Contents
Foreword - Ami Isseroff
and Ameen Hannoun
Draft Declaration
Regarding a Final Settlement
Suggested Revisions
|
|
Foreword - Ameen
Hannoun & Ami Isseroff
In this special issue of View Points, the PEACE Dialog
Forum, we present a draft declaration regarding a final settlement of the
Palestinian/Israeli Conflict. Please Note:
- This is a draft, submitted for your comments.
- The final version will be sponsored only by those who submit their names and
indicate their support.
- Subscribing to PEACE Dialog Forum and/or PeaceWatch does not imply that you support this
declaration, unless you want to!
- The purpose of the declaration is to show that both 'sides' in our dialog want an honest
and fair settlement, and to help dispel the distrust that exists between peoples that have
been at war for so long.
- The declaration will be used as a catalyst to gather support for peace and PEACE.
- We hope that other organizations will adopt this declaration as well.
- This is a declaration of principles only - not a detailed prescription for
implementation.
Suggestions for ammendment should keep in mind that we want to attract the widest possible
support on both sides, and that this is a declaration of intent
and sentiment.
Thank you,
Ami Isseroff
Ameen Hannoun
Top
Draft Declaration
Regarding a Final Settlement
We call on our leaders to negotiate a peaceful solution
to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict with the utmost urgency. Peace must become the number
one national priority for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples and leadership.
We believe that the following must be elements in the
negotiations and the
settlement:
i. The parties recognize and declare the equality of both parties to the conflict, and
negotiate as equals. During negotiations, both sides must refrain from violence and the
threat of violence. Israel must refrain from seizure or development of disputed
territories, namely the territories occupied since 1967. The parties must follow the
letter and spirit of agreements and do their utmost to ensure the success of the peace.
ii. The parties must recognize the right to self determination, in independent national
states, of both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples. Each side must not infringe on the
rights of the other to their own national homeland.
iii. The parties are committed to a total cessation of terror and aggression, and shall
cooperate in eradicating terror. The eradication of terror must not come at the expense of
the civil rights of individual citizens.
iv. The parties shall demonstrate by example, education and actions, a sincere commitment
to the principle of non-violence and to neighborly friendship and constructive action.
This must include a program of education for peace, and must be reflected in every
official or officially sponsored act or publication of both
governments.
v. The parties shall cooperate to make the best use of common environmental resources and
develop the economies and cultural life of our peoples to the best mutual
advantage.
vi. Israel must return all or most of the territories occupied since 1967, so that the
Palestinian people can create and maintain a viable national life. To avoid uprooting the
population of large Israeli settlements, the agreement may include exchange of
territories. Israelis or Palestinians living in areas ceded to the other side will be
allowed to continue to live where they are and to enjoy the protection of the state to
which their areas belong, each taking the citizenship of their choice or dual citizenship.
vii. The solution must include the dissolution of all refugee camps and the resettlement
and rehabilitation of all refugees through compensation. The resolution of the refugee
problem must not come at the expense of the principles of Article ii.
viii. The settlement will take into account the significance of Jerusalem as a holy city
for Judaism, Christianity and Islam and as a political center for both peoples; it should
also take into account the civic rights and humanitarian needs of both the Israeli and
Palestinian inhabitants of Jerusalem.
ix. The parties must each declare publicly and openly, to their own peoples and in their
own languages, as well as in formal treaties, that they recognize the settlement reached
as irrevocable and final, and have no further claims on the territory or national rights
of the other party.
Top
Suggested Revisions to the
Draft Charter
Following are some of the revisions suggested
by members of the Qalqilya dialog group:
A. Replace the paragraph about Jeruselem, with this wording:
" Any solution for the future of Jerusalem should take into
consideration the rights and aspirations
of both Israelis and Palestinians. Therefore, Jerusalem should remain one city,
serving, under special arrangements, as the capital of both Israel and Palestine."
B. Change the refugee clause ( vii) as follows (approximately):
vii. The solution must include the dissolution of all refugee
camps, compensation and the resettlement and rehabilitation of refugees in Palestine.
C. Include a clause on security arrangements for Israel.
D. Include a clause about safe passage for Palestinians
E. Include a clause about open borders to Egypt and Jordan for
Palestinians
F. Include a clause specifying that the Palestinian state will be
demilitarized.
Top |
