How Netanyahu can match Abbas's commitment to peace

[oberliner]

Meeting with a delegation of Knesset members on Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that in a final status agreement the Palestinians “would not demand to return to Jaffe, Acre or Haifa.” Among other conciliatory comments, Abbas’s statement exemplifies his commitment toward addressing legitimate Israeli concerns and ending the conflict. Unfortunately, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has moderated his hawkish positions, he has yet to match Abbas’s willingness to offer concessions and reach out to the other side. This will be necessary to reach an agreement.

Even before beginning negotiations with Netanyahu, Abbas gave up his demands that Israel freeze settlement building in the West Bank and that all talks on borders be based on the 1967 armistice line. These decisions sparked outrage within the Palestinian community. Nonetheless, Abbas was determined to press forward, a sign of his desire for peace. Abbas has maintained his moderate tone since the talks began. His willingness to renounce the right of return, one of the core Palestinian grievances so early in the negotiation process, shows that Abbas is looking to solving the conflict instead of airing past grievances. Abbas addressed another potential Israeli security concern — that the Palestinians will use their state as a terrorist launching pad against Israel — when he agreed that the Palestinian state would be demilitarized, saying, “we don’t need planes or missiles. All we need is a strong police force.” Finally, Abbas is holding a pre-Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) toast with dozens of Israeli members of Knesset and has interviewed multiple times on Israeli television in an attempt to reach out to the Israeli public and show them he is serious about peace.

It is important to recognize that Netanyahu has also taken some difficult steps towards conciliation with the Palestinians. Before bilateral negotiations began, he agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of heinous terrorist attacks, a decision that sparked outrage from those in his government. He also has abided by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s order to not speak publicly about the substance of the negotiations — a feat rarely accomplished during the decades of Israeli-Arab talks. Nonetheless, he continues to display a minimalist approach to the peace talks, when the hour calls for imitating the dramatic symbolism orchestrated by former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

It is true that Netanyahu never promised Kerry or Abbas that he would freeze settlement construction during the negotiations. However, announcing the building of over 1,000 units in the West Bank immediately after the beginning of bilateral talks sends a troubling message about his commitment to truly reaching a peace agreement. Instead of looking for ways to move forward, Netanyahu added another impediment to the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

http://972mag.com/how-netanyahu-can-match-abbass-commitment-to-peace/78045/