NEWSMAKERS -
| 2013-08-09Eyeing Peace In The Middle East
An excerpt from an editorial in the Kansas City Star on pressing forward on crucial Middle East peace talks:Anew round of Middle East peace talks began this week with hope for success in short supply. And no wonder. The modern state of Israel is nearing age 70, and in all that time there has been no settle- ment of the vexing question of how Israel and a Palestinian neighbor state can co-exist in peace.
Nor has there even been an agreement on how to create that Palestinian state and what the capitals of it and Israel should be. Both want Jerusalem.
Yet US Secretary of State John F Kerry deserves praise for ending a five-year freeze
in talks even if almost no one imagines a final settlement can be reached in the nine months he has set as the goal. Israeli and Palestinian leaders also deserve praise for finding the courage to renew peace talks when so few hold out hope for success.
Perhaps this lack of hope signals what financial markets often call capitulation, meaning that against all odds the mar- kets begin to rebound just when most investors give up. A weary world is near capitulation on the Middle East and could hardly have lower expectations for success in these negotia- tions.
Israelis and Palestinians need to work hard now to cre- ate a two-state solution so all people in the region can live
out their dreams in peace and in a relationship built on mutual respect. ...
Chief negotiators Saeb Erekat for the Palestinians and Tzipi Livni for the Israelis will need to focus on the future of Jerusa- lem and the current Israeli set- tlements in the occupied West Bank and the annexed East Jerusalem. A settlement may well hinge on whether both sides will be willing to share Jerusalem as a capital.
Continued tension in the Middle East because of the stateless Palestinians gives extremists around the world a rallying cry. A successful reso- lution to the conflict would be a gift to the world.
– via Nampa-AP
– Online: http://www.kansas- city.com
Nor has there even been an agreement on how to create that Palestinian state and what the capitals of it and Israel should be. Both want Jerusalem.
Yet US Secretary of State John F Kerry deserves praise for ending a five-year freeze
in talks even if almost no one imagines a final settlement can be reached in the nine months he has set as the goal. Israeli and Palestinian leaders also deserve praise for finding the courage to renew peace talks when so few hold out hope for success.
Perhaps this lack of hope signals what financial markets often call capitulation, meaning that against all odds the mar- kets begin to rebound just when most investors give up. A weary world is near capitulation on the Middle East and could hardly have lower expectations for success in these negotia- tions.
Israelis and Palestinians need to work hard now to cre- ate a two-state solution so all people in the region can live
out their dreams in peace and in a relationship built on mutual respect. ...
Chief negotiators Saeb Erekat for the Palestinians and Tzipi Livni for the Israelis will need to focus on the future of Jerusa- lem and the current Israeli set- tlements in the occupied West Bank and the annexed East Jerusalem. A settlement may well hinge on whether both sides will be willing to share Jerusalem as a capital.
Continued tension in the Middle East because of the stateless Palestinians gives extremists around the world a rallying cry. A successful reso- lution to the conflict would be a gift to the world.
– via Nampa-AP
– Online: http://www.kansas- city.com
