A fundamental aspect of the conflict
Reader comment on item: The Palestinian-Israeli War: Where It Came From, and How to End It

Submitted by Solomon (Canada), Mar 23, 2006 at 23:54

The analysis presented by D. Pipes about the failure of the Oslo process is, by and large, valid. But what seems to me a fundamental aspect was missing.

All the stakeholders in the "peace process" used UN Resolution 242 as the crucial document upon which a lasting peace will be attained. This is tantamount to acknowledging that the history of the conflict just started in 1967. Arabs and Europeans have since kept 1967 as the beginning of history. And this is the idea that fueled the conflict since 1993.

What is astonishing is that no one – not the media, not the politicians, not the analysts – mentions the 1922 Mandate of Palestine. This is an internationally recognized document, adopted by the League of Nations and embedded in the Charter of the UN, which sets up the partition of the Ottoman territories in the wake of WWI. This document recognized "the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country."

In light of the above, one wonders why a further "partition" of Palestine is needed; why a new "Palestinian state" should be carved out of Israel. It is by ignoring these provisions of international law that we find ourselves in the present mess.

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