Al's Opinions

In my previous post, written a few hours ago, I expressed pessimism about the possibility of resuming peace talks between the Israeli Likud administration and the Palestinian Authority.  Let us suppose that, contrary to my expectation, the Palestinians are persuaded to return to direct negotiations with the Likud Administration.  I urge that the first item to be discussed and possibly negotiated is the boundary between Israel and Palestine.  There is a boundary that the international community, including the UN, has agreed to.  Israel has not agreed to that boundary.  The big question is, will Israel agree to any boundary?  If Israel is serious about agreeing to a two-state solution, it seems reasonable to believe that Israel is ready to talk about where the boundary should be.

It would be interesting to see whether Israel will agree to discuss a boundary and, if so, where it should be.

I predict that Israel will refuse to discuss the location of the boundary.  In the past, Israel has always insisted that choosing a boundary should be the last item to be negotiated.

Labels: Boundary between Palestine and Israel