but still not completely rule it out and recognize that a "not very good offer" is still better than the status quo.
As Phyllis Bennis puts it, "It is possible that given the current disparity of power between the two sides, that something like the Geneva Accord may be the best that could be negotiated in the present climate."
but there are legitimate concerns and Dr. Bennis lays out in a reasonable critique:
"Israel will be allowed to establish Early Warning Systems in Palestinian territory in the northern and central West Bank, and to keep its military forces in the Jordan Valley. The Multinational Force which is to "provide security guarantees to the Parties, act as a deterrent, and oversee the implementation of the relevant provisions of this Agreement" will only be stationed in Palestine, not in Israel where it might deter acts of aggression. And in anything connected to "terrorism" as well as any security issues in the Old City of Jerusalem, a "Trilateral Security Committee" composed of the two parties plus the U.S. will have authority, not the multinational force. That will give the U.S. dangerously high levels of control.
On the borders, Palestinian authorities and the Multinational Force will share official control – but Israel will be allowed to maintain an "unseen" presence at airports, border crossings, etc., for at least two and one-half years, with possible extensions of time. No such Palestinian (or international) involvement will be allowed at crossings into Israel. And the "Israeli Air Force shall be entitled to use the Palestinian sovereign airspace for training purposes" thus further undermining the Agreement's claim to "recognize and respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence, as well as the inviolability of each others territory, including territorial waters, and airspace."
The Geneva Accord recognizes both "Palestine and Israel as the homelands of their respective peoples." But Israel is recognized in accordance with "the right of the Jewish people to statehood," rather than referring to the right of "Israelis" to a state. This, despite the language "without prejudice to the equal rights of the Parties' respective citizens," seems to effectively accept as legitimate the existing discrimination against the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The draft accepts the annexation of the Jerusalem settlements, as well as some outside of Jerusalem, leading to half the total settlers and many of the settlements remaining in Israeli hands. While Geneva goes farther than Oslo or Madrid in calling for a 1 – 1 exchange of territory for that Palestinian land lost to those settlements, it still is flawed by requiring Palestinian acceptance of largely infertile land abutting Gaza in exchange for the built-up urban areas surrounding Arab Jerusalem which would be annexed to Israel. "
link to full article:
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles9/Bennis_Geneva-Accord.htm.