The Real Road to PeaceBy John V. Whitbeck
The Geneva Accord, signed Dec. 1 at an impressive ceremony in which President Jimmy Carter and other Nobel Peace Prize laureates participated, deserves the active and whole-hearted support of everyone who genuinely cares about Israelis, Palestinians or peace.
This “virtual” permanent-status peace agreement, a prodigious, detailed document, contains all the fundamental substantive compromises and trade-offs which have long been recognized to be necessary in any negotiated peace agreement conceivably acceptable both to most Israelis and to most Palestinians, as well as carefully considered procedures and timelines for implementation. If both peoples simultaneously had governments sincerely determined to achieve peace, this is precisely the sort of document one would expect to emerge from their negotiations.
Giving Peace Talks a ChanceBy Ali Abunimah
The medium-term future for Israelis and Palestinians remains bleak, but in the long run peace will be created.
It has been almost two months since the last deadly attack on Israeli civilians by a Palestinian suicide bomber and there are currently intense diplomatic efforts, principally by Egypt, to turn this hiatus into a new global cease-fire by Palestinian factions.
Such efforts are in jeopardy, however, because while Israelis have seen a dramatic drop in attacks, Palestinians continue to suffer daily.
Since the last suicide attack, the Israeli army has killed more than 70 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians, among them 17 children.
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The Geneva Accord: Two Views