Rick Jones:

Thanks for the positive feedback. I don't agree with you though that a 2-state solution is a non-starter. The reality is that Israel is firmly established and would only go away with significant bloodshed. I can't advocate that. I accept that Israel is there to stay, but should return to its 1967 border.

It is time for the Israelis to accept the limitations of its borders and bow to the inevitable. The West Bank and Gaza must be ceded to the Palestinians. The right of return must be granted, and assistance must be given to a new Palestinian government to ensure its success. If there is no aid, a new Palestinian nation will be economically incapable of supporting itself. Israel must also take a roll in being an honest trading partner. It will be economic ties that will ensure peace between these two nations.

Assuming all of this comes to pass (which is a big assumption); Arab nations must then recognize Israel and establish normal relations. None of this can happen without the US and Western powers serving as honest brokers. With the cooperation of all nations to ensure an equitable solution, there is a chance for success. If we fall back into an Israeli-centric approach, nothing will be accomplished and the US will again be seen as dishonest. For once, we should actually consider the people on the street rather than the government that claims to serve them. Will we be seen as oppressors or benevolent benefactors? It must be the latter if we are to repair our reputation and promote stability in the region.

Maryanne:

As you say, the Jews were absent from the land of Palestine for almost two millennia. Then they return (with the aid of the world’s superpowers) to retake the land by force over the past 100 years, from the families whose ancestors have tended their flocks and orchards, and farmed the land for millennia. You want to force these people out of their homes and off their land at the point of gun. Is that your idea of justice? Shame!

Simple Observer,

Excellent post! You are square on the mark:

“Before it was Israel, it was known as Palestine for more than 2000 years, even when the 2nd Temple still existed. To ignore this history and deny the legitimate claims of the Arab Palestinians is unfair. Israel exists because the western (mostly Christian) nations saw to its creation without regard to the objections of the majority of the world that do not recognize the claims to the land by "God's Chosen People".”

However, I think you are wrong in saying:

“This peace process is the key to a stable Middle East. We have failed over the last 30 years to deal fairly with the parties involved. This is an opportunity to rectify that.”

This peace process will fail because the two-state solution is a nonstarter. The Jews have no right to a piece of Palestine after being absent for almost 2 millennia prior to 1947. The 5 million Israeli Jews should join their 5.7 million brethren in the USA and form a true Jewish homeland with 80% of the Jews on the planet. We can support it; Palestine cannot.

Mr. Zettos has hit it on the head. These are the bold steps that will need to be taken in order to build the conditions necessary to a lasting peace. Additionally, economic support and infrastructure assistance will be necessary for the Palestinians to become truly independent and self sufficient.

Any suggestion that the US step aside is short sighted. This peace process is the key to a stable Middle East. We have failed over the last 30 years to deal fairly with the parties involved. This is an opportunity to rectify that. Unfortunately, I don't believe that this administration has the brains of the forethought to accomplish this.

Forget the notion that the land belongs to the Israelis because God gave it to them. The Arabs can similarly trace their history back through the same time and space. Israel is a political creation resulting from world horror and guilt about the holocaust, nothing more. Before it was Israel, it was known as Palestine for more than 2000 years, even when the 2nd Temple still existed. To ignore this history and deny the legitimate claims of the Arab Palestinians is unfair. Israel exists because the western (mostly Christian) nations saw to its creation without regard to the objections of the majority of the world that do not recognize the claims to the land by "God's Chosen People".

Peace? No. Two reasons:

1) Israel was formed illegally (do you really want to get into that?).

No justice - no peace.

Justice is long beyond the pale.

Ergo, no peace - ever.

2) Nationalism.

So extraordinarily and tragically sad.

The heart of this horrible tragedy?

1) the immorality of the US and the UK governments with the support of their immoral, stupid, and ignorant christian citizens.

Why didn't they take in the Hebrews?

Any moron would have seen this coming - would have known that they were mid-wife to a slaughter.

The footnote will read: "Truman trying to cash Balfour's check with the blood of Palestinians and Hebrews alike".

MaryAnn; You are pittyfuly wrong. The Jews were NOT the original people to occupy the land which - allegedly- was promised to them by God.
According to the scriptures (Which, by the way they authored), the ancestors of today's Zionists in order to grab that land embarked upon a campaign of mass murder:
"In the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded" (Deuteronomy 20:16-17).
The Jebusites were the people of Jerusalem, and like the other nations that were slated for destruction, they had no quarrel with the Israelites. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that The People Of The Book were bent on genocide according to the modern definition of the word:
"They should be utterly destroyed and should receive no mercy but be exterminated, as the Lord commanded Moses . . Utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling "(Joshua 11:20 . . . First Samuel 15:3).

Visions of such past Zionist glories emboldened modern Zionists to use the same tactics on the Palestinians in order to grab their land. The records at the United Nations attest to many such massacres of Palestinians by the Israeli Occupation forces. Unfortunately, they did so with the tacit approval of their main supporter: The United States.

MaryAnn; You are pittyfully wrong. The Jews were NOT the original people to occupy the land which - allegedly- was promised to them by God.
According to the scriptures (Which, by the way they authored), the ancestors of today's Zionists in order to grab that land embarked upon a campaign of mass murder:
"In the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded" (Deuteronomy 20:16-17).
The Jebusites were the people of Jerusalem, and like the other nations that were slated for destruction, they had no quarrel with the Israelites. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that The People Of The Book were bent on genocide according to the modern definition of the word:
"They should be utterly destroyed and should receive no mercy but be exterminated, as the Lord commanded Moses . . Utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling "(Joshua 11:20 . . . First Samuel 15:3).

Visions of such past Zionist glories emboldened modern Zionists to use the same tactics on the Palestinians in order to grab their land. The records at the United Nations attest to many such massacres of Palestinians by the Israeli Occupation forces.

Rami hits the nail on its head... but who of the policy makers is listening? More important than an Annapolis summit, there is need for a "New World Moral Order", an order that considers justice and basic human rights as necessary ingredients in reaching "win-win" solutions to world conflicts.

Mr. Khouri,

As usual you are on the money. I have listened to you many times through KCRW radio station with Warren Olney hosting.
Your comments are always precise, succinct and intelligent.
I do appreciate them.

Mr. Kouri,

It's a minor point, but please don't use a baseball analogy if you don't understand baseball.

A suicide squeeze is not a ninth-inning phenomenon; it can be called in any inning.

A suicide squeeze does not involve putting all runners in motion, only the runner on third base.

A suicide squeeze does not usually fail; it has a success rate of 86 percent.

Maryanne,
Your response is not realistic. You cannot expect others to recognize that which they never believed to be truth. Why should anyone believe God gave the Jews this land... simply because the Jews have some book written by themselves saying so? Then, according to your "logic", anyone could come along and name himself a prophet and write anything making claim to whatever he wished. That doesn't make it legitimate in the eyes of others. Let's extend your "logic" so you, yourself, can see its flaws. Imagine the millions of Americans who inhabit the USA. If they were to finally now recognize the land as that of the Native Americans, where would all the non-native Americans whose ancestors overan that land go today? Where would all the Australians who inhabit Aborigine lands go? We can go on and on with examples. Why should Jews be any different than all the other peoples of the world who have been overpowered, overun, displaced, absorbed...? How many communities do you know who can trace their uninterrupted hold over any land today, free of any history of intrusion by others? Move forward and stop looking back wistfully at what can never be. Only Jews think they are God's chosen people. That doesn't make it reality to the majority of people on this planet who don't believe God "gives" land to anyone.

Difficult to see how anyone can rationally expect there to ever be peace when the majority of palestinians (and Arabs for that matter) will only be happy with the complete destruction of Israel. After all its not as if its a secret.

Peace will be impossible until the US ends its rapture with Israel and starts being objective. Khouri is right, the Arabs know this conference is only to benefit the US. It is doomed to failure as long as the US position is that the Palestinians must surrender to the Zio-fascists and die quietly. Israel will never obey all the UN resolutions, such as 242. Israel will never make peace until the US forces it to do so. And that ain't gonna happen any time soon. In the meantime, the American public has to suffer terrorism to help Israel.

But there's hope. Once Iran get nukes, Israel might finally feel some pressure.

Quick question, how we can expect the EEUU to broker a peace treaty when our country has one of the parties as ally?.

I fail to see any objectivity and neutrality at all, wonder why these meetings are usually a waste of time?, on top of that we have two populations that will remain at war no matter what. Sorry to be so pessimistic but that seems to be the forecast for years to come.

Unfortunately, there can be no lasting peace until the Arab peoples--and the rest of the world--recognize the Land of Israel as the ancient and historic homeland of the Jewish People.

How, truly, can Israel be colonialist or illegitimate??

The Jews were the original inhabitants of the Holy Land.

The earliest reference to Israel is from the Funerary Stela of the Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah in 1209 B.C.! (And its sitting in museum in Cairo, by the way)

Indeed, ironic perhaps, but Jews' closest genetic cousins are Syrian. (The fact that most of these tests were done at Oxford is maybe even more ironic...)

After all, Jesus was a Jew--as was Isaac and Jacob, Jeremiah and Isaiah, all the Prophets, Kings David and Solomon, Mary, Josheph, John the Baptist, all the Disciples, etc....

The Jews were kicked out of their land by the Roman Empire and forced into Exile for nearly two thousand years.

One would think that this tiny group (there are 13.2 Million Jews in the world, compared to 2 Billion Christians and 1.6 Billion Muslims), expelled by Empire, exiled, and then returned to their original homeland after mass destruction in Europe and final expulsion from the Arab world would elicit sympathy and support among "Liberals."

Unfortunately, for those who believe in supersessionist philosophy--that Christianity and Islam superseded or replaced their mother faith community, the Jewish People--its rather a problem that the Jews returned to Jerusalem.

That means all the tenets that have been taught over the centuries--that Jews are no longer Chosen but in fact cursed and destined to live in exile, that all the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures relating to Israel and Judah now belong to the Church or, as stated in the Koran, the followers of Mohammad---might ring false.

Thus, most of the world can't stand the idea of Jews controlling their own country in their own ancestral homeland and returning to power in the city of their ancient Kings, Jerusalem.

Lebanon can shell Palestinian camps all day long--No one cares.

Jordan killed more Palestinians in Black September then Israel in all her history--No one said a word.

Iran persecutes more then a million Sunni Arabs within their borders, Syria forces its Kurds into abject poverty, etc., etc.....There are no protests.

As a Palestinian in East Jerusalem once told me, "the truth is, if we were to admit it to ourselves, is that people only pay attention to us because they hate the Jews."

MY THANKSGIVING RECIPE:

Get three wounded ducks: one without brains (Bush), one without eyes (Olmert), and one without arms nor legs (Abbas). Lock them inside a closed room. Give them paper and pencil, and ask them to teach each other how to cook a duck. Wait until the end of time.

Alternatively: once you got the three ducks locked inside a room, deprive them of food and drink util they die. That would be celebrated all over the world. Then, wherever you go, you'll always be greeted with good food.

Well, when you have hotdogs for a "gourmet" diplomatic dinner, you ought to have cheap beer in plastic cups and the entertainment (oh, sorry ....peace conference!) to go with it. The headline of the main page of PostGlobal, by Ignatius and Zakaria, describe it well: Showtime!

It is an early good bye party for the three lame ducks--Bush, Olmert and Abbas. Have not done the math lately, but does the sum of this trio's approval rating pass 50%?

Secondly, the invitation of all Arab "leaders" is guaranteed to produce disagreement and failure since they are hardly united on any particular issue at all.

Mr.Rami G khouri's assement seems quite valid, at the same time its true that issues facing Palestine and Israel are very critical and extremly important. The ball is in the Israeli court now to prove that they really want to have a genuine and lasting peace. If Israel is not willing to allow the return of refugees, than how can people of Palestine accept settlements scattered all over West Bank? Its give and take, otherwise its a wishful thinking that there will be any peace. Lets be realistic and at the same time keep our fingers crossed.

Abbas crumbled. Gave in on roadmap, core issues, timelines, kept rejecting overtures from the more pragmatic Hamas leaders to end intra-conflict. As a result the pragmatic voices may be snuffed out by more radical Hamas members leaving Israel to have no option but to attack Gaza post- Annapolis with a significant ground force...Then Abbas with Israeli help will run west bank and Gaza like a police state. The Arabs in Annapolis should press for Marwan Baghouti's release. That's achieveable at this point, not much else. He can unify Palestinians not Abbas at this point. There will never be a Palestinian state with Abbas, which is why his position is being strengthened/elevated by Israelis.

Demetrios Zettos, NO. What you request is absurd. No soverign nation would accept what you propose unless they were a conquering nation. So go have some قهوة عربية.

The United States should bow out of the peace-seeking efforts in the Israli-Palestine affair. In the words of good ol' Yogi, "They have left field so screwed, nobody can play it!"

After sixty years of being the rich uncle, no one could expect that we can be an "honest broker". In addition, it is pretty difficult for the Jews to give up land which was supposedly given to them by God. Other parties to the discussion might be more in agreement, if someone other than the Jews had written the Bible, or if a people, other than the Jews, had written that the Jews were indeed the chosen ones.

In view of the lack of a chance that the parties would ever reach an agreement, we should get out of the mess, because it will probably never be solved and may eventually involve the U.S. in a war,with most of the world against us. We have made a noble effort, with no real, acceptable, solution likely.

Mr. Khouri is correct but for the wrong reasons

Israel is talking to only a half of the palestinian population; the portion that wants peace. What about the other half. How can you talk with Abbas since he has no power to implement any agreement for the whole Palestinian
people.How do the Israelis know that honoring United Nations resolutions, leaving the West Bank,returning half of Jerusalem, will be good enough for Hamas and other rejectionist groups.

I agree with Mr.Khouri. Only a just and fair solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have a chance to succeed

My suggestion for a viable solution is the following:

A. To begin with, an immediate cessation of all hostilities must be IMPOSED on both sides.

B. The city of Jerusalem should be completely demilitarized and declared a neutral 'Holy City'
protected by the United Nations.

C. Israel must be compelled to:
1) Withraw from the occupied territories
including all the illegal settlements and the
Golan Heights.
2) Accept the creation of an independent
Palestinian State.
3) Allow the return of Palestinians who were
forced out of their homes under the Israeli
ethnic cleansing campaign.
4) Provide just compensation for the homes and
lands previously owned by Palestinians and
forcibly appropriated by Israel or return such
homes and lands to their rightful owners.
5) Accord and guarantee equal human rights and
civil liberties to all Palestinians who choose
to live within Israel as stipulated by the U.N.
resolution which created the state of Israel.
6) Adhere to all U.N. resolutions aimed at
establishing peace in the region with fairness
for both Israelis and Palestinians.

7. Israel must accept the establishment of a
neutral connecting corridor between the West
Bank and Gaza

C. The Palestinians:
1) Must accept that the existence of the state
of Israel is a fact with which they must live.
2) They must refrain from future hostile acts
against Israel.

When Israelis and Palestinians have fulfilled their obligations, the Palestinians can redirect
their energies into building a peaceful and prosperous nation without animosity for their
neighbors. Time can be relied upon to heal many wounds opened by both sides.

Unless both sides can 'bite the bullet' and sincerely work towards establishing permanent
peace, it is obvious that the world can anticipate the open wound of their conflict to become an
incurable gangrene that would cause the demise of the afflicted and perhaps the entire humankind.

It is not Israel's fault that the Palestinian Muslims are fighting and killing each other.
There are millions of Palestinian Muslims living inside Isreal. Can you tell me how many Jews live in Palestine or any of the other exclusive 50 Muslim nations?
Isreal and USA have gone above and beyond in trying to attain peace. What have Muslims done? Suicide bombings, inter-fighting,...

Both Palestinian and Israeli representatives have to be ready to make some concessions in order to reach tangible conclusions in this peace summit. Moderates voices can gain something out this and bring about peace, not extremists.

I think it's absurd to say that the process will fail because "no leader is daring enough to make a bold move." In the recent past Israeli leaders withdrew their forces from South Lebanon and from Gaza despite much domestic opposition. Where did these "bold moves" get them? Both territories have since been used as bases for attacks against Israel. The process will fail because the "land for peace" notion has been completely discredited by these events. Also discredited is the notion that if Palestinians have democratic elections they will choose leaders who reject violence. Israelis now know that there are no concessions they can make that will lead to peace. So why make further concessions? Israelis will have peace when they are surrounded by a wall that keeps Palestinians from entering Israel.

Israel, tell the Arabs you will trade land for peace. Tell them YOU want the land God gave you from the river Niles to the Euphrates. THEN they will have peace.

It is refreshing to see an accurate and detailed Arab perspective on the issue of Israel and Palestine on the Post's website. I find I agree with his point that Israel will need to give as well as get to find peace. Please keep the reality-based information coming, Post editors. We've seen where the alternative has taken us.

Expectations are very low and the parties are expected to do the work later.

I am just impressed that a journalist from Beirut knows about the intricacies of the suicide sqeeze.

It's kind of hard to have peace negotiations with Syria as a proxy for Hezbollah and no one as a proxy for Hamas. If the people with the power to spoil a peace are not invited to the table, how can there be a peace even if all the other parties want it? When Hamas was elected, they offered a 50 year truce to Israel, with conditions identical to the Saudi peace plan. Saudi Arabia was never required to first renounce violence and recognize the Jewish state. Yet Saudi Arabia was invited to Annapolis, so why couldn't Hamas be invited? The Saudis are responsible for our soldiers being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan because their petrodollars fund terrorism all over the world. The fact that this is due to Saudi individuals rather than the official position of the Saudi government does not impress me. What Hamas offered to Israel is at least as good as what existed between Greece and Turkey, or between North and South Korea, during most of the 20th century. But they were kicked in the teeth in response instead of their idea being encouraged and explored. This is one of many reasons why the Arabs have every right to be suspicious of Israel's intentions.