"20 YEARS LATER, NO PEACE, Mideast accords of 1993 see little hope of reality.

The Waterbury Republican-American today (Friday, September 13, 2013) published an article about the failed Oslo Accords: "20 YEARS LATER, NO PEACE, Mideast accords of 1993 see little hope of reality." This article provides an opportunity to write letters in response similar to a letter, also included below, published today in The Boston Globe. We also include a copy of the excellent op-ed to which that letter responded; both have plenty of ideas that may be used in a letter to the Waterbury Republican-American, which may be sent by email to .

We include the article along with some comments and the excellent letter and op-ed in The Boston Globe.

---

Waterbury Republican-American
September 13, 2013

20 YEARS LATER, NO PEACE
Mideast accords of 1993 see little hope of reality

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABU DIS, West Bank - In 1993, the words rang hopeful and historic. Israel and the PLO agreed "it is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict," live in peaceful co-existence and reach a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement."

Twenty years later, the words that launched Israeli-Palestinian talks on dividing the Holy Land into two states ring hollow to many on both sides. Negotiators say mistakes they made then are causing damage to this day.

Palestinians seem no closer now than they were 20 years ago to a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and some argue they are worse off. The number of Israeli settlers has doubled. East Jerusalem is cut off by an Israeli barrier. Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas since 2007, is turning into a distinct enclave.

Many Israelis, scarred by Palestinian suicide bombings and rocket fire from Gaza, are skeptical of the other side's intentions and believe the politically divided Palestinians cannot carry out a peace deal.

The Declaration of Principles, sealed with a handshake on the White House lawn on Sept. 13, 1993, was hailed as a breakthrough in the century-old conflict between Arabs and Jews.

It also produced broken promises, bouts of violence and two failed attempts to negotiate a final peace deal.

Former Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said that if he knew then what he knows now he wouldn't have agreed to the accords.

"With such kinds of blocs of settlements? No. With the closure of Jerusalem? No. Not at all," Qureia said.

His Israeli counterpart in those secret talks, former Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin, said it was a mistake to allow for a five year interim period of Palestinian autonomy. This, he said, gave veto powers to hard-liners - Hamas on the Palestinian side, settlers and right-wing politicians on the Israeli side. "It was a foolish idea," he said.

Comments

Re "In 1993, the words rang hopeful and historic. Israel and the PLO agreed 'it is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict," live in peaceful co-existence and reach a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement.'":

Unfortunately, only one side was interested in a peace settlement while even today the other side retains its goal of destroying Israel.

Re "Twenty years later, the words that launched Israeli-Palestinian talks on dividing the Holy Land into two states ring hollow to many on both sides. Negotiators say mistakes they made then are causing damage to this day.":

Neither side intended those talks to be about dividing the 22 percent of Palestine west of the Jordan River into two states. The Arabs, in their communications with their own people (Palestinian Media Watch is an invaluable resource for reading what the Palestinian Arab leadership is actually telling its people), made it clear they looked at the process as a step towards their goal of destroying Israel. The Israelis hoped it would lead to peace, with some favoring the so-called "two-state solution" but others favoring the autonomy for the Palestinian Arabs which was envisioned in the Camp David Accords but about which both the Egyptians and the Palestinian Arabs refused to negotiate.

Re "Palestinians seem no closer now than they were 20 years ago to a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and some argue they are worse off. The number of Israeli settlers has doubled. East Jerusalem is cut off by an Israeli barrier. Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas since 2007, is turning into a distinct enclave.":

The writers presuppose the parameters of an agreement, but it is difficult to dispute the fact that the Palestinian Arabs are worse off under their own brutal government than they were when Israel had responsibility and vastly improved the conditions in which they lived.

Of course, the "barrier" is a result of the vicious Arab terror offensive launched after Arafat rejected an offer in 2000 that would have given the Palestinian Arabs virtually everything they supposedly want. And few care to remember that, in blatant violation of the armistice agreements, "East Jerusalem" was completely cut off from Israel during the period 1948-1967 when it was occupied by Jordan.

The separate, de facto terror states in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority ruled areas in Judea and Samaria bring into question whether there is actually a single, Palestinian Arab national identity.

Re "Many Israelis, scarred by Palestinian suicide bombings and rocket fire from Gaza, are skeptical of the other side's intentions and believe the politically divided Palestinians cannot carry out a peace deal.":

Also because of the way even the so-called "moderate" Mahmoud Abbas continues to incite against Israel and Jews and the way he has repeatedly insisted he will never make any concessions on any of the core issues.

Re "Former Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said that if he knew then what he knows now he wouldn't have agreed to the accords.

"'With such kinds of blocs of settlements? No. With the closure of Jerusalem? No. Not at all,' Qureia said.":

Israel essentially stopped establishing new Jewish communities in the disputed territories at the start of the failed Oslo Process and almost all building has been within communities everyone recognizes will remain with Israel under any conceivable agreement.

Re "His Israeli counterpart in those secret talks, former Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin, said it was a mistake to allow for a five year interim period of Palestinian autonomy. This, he said, gave veto powers to hard-liners - Hamas on the Palestinian side, settlers and right-wing politicians on the Israeli side. 'It was a foolish idea,' he said.":

It wasn't Hamas which vetoed peace; it was Arafat who rejected peace in 2000 and Abbas who rejected peace in 2008.

---

The Boston Globe
September 13, 2013

With no end to Palestinians' culture of hate, no hope for peace

RE "THE handshake delusion" by Jeff Jacoby (Op-ed, Sept. 11): The handshake in Washington in 1993 between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat, a gesture that was supposed to be the beginning of a peace process, has been one of the biggest scams in world history, much like the "peace in our time" comments by Neville Chamberlain in 1938.

There are still folks who honestly believe that the Palestinians have changed. They haven't. One of the greatest travesties was giving a Nobel Peace Prize to Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Arafat for going through a charade. As the mother of man killed by Arab terrorists said: They don't give a Nobel Prize for literature for writing half a book.

One of the agreements in the Oslo Accord was that the Palestinians would put an end to incitement to violence. Anyone who has heard President Mahmoud Abbas or listened to Palestinian Authority media knows that, even after 20 years, the hate and bigotry continue to pour out of the mosques and television. Until this changes and new generations emerge untainted by this culture of hate, there is no hope for a real peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

GILBERT STEIN
Aptos, Calif.