My letters Re Is a two-state solution dead? & Under Netanyahu, Israel is stronger than ever

 

RE: Is a two-state solution dead?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-israel-joe-walsh-20120509,0,4725588.story

Dear Editor,

Good editorial.  I was frankly surprised you had such a firm grasp of the facts. Granted there are many more relevant facts plus plenty of angst and rage and rising religious extremism on all sides. Day by day the conflict- and the very real plight of the Palestinians gets worse. 

Echo chambers convince players on both sides they are 'winning' and one-staters (on both sides) relish the lack of progress as if time will be kind... Time is not kind- it is ruthless. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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RE: Under Netanyahu, Israel is stronger than ever By Fareed Zakaria
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/under-netanyahu-israel-is-stronger-than-ever/2012/05/09/gIQAcTH2DU_story.html

Dear Editor,

Israel is indeed stronger than ever, despite the institutionalized bigotry perpetuating the paranoid claims that it is and needs to be "The Jewish State"... Forcing tax payers (here & there) to fund religious scholars and schemes and corruption is a very bad idea- as is fragmenting families and demonizing, oppressing, impoverishing and destroying select men, woman and children because you have deemed them to be the wrong religion and a "demographic threat".

Fueling religious extremism and bad choices on both sides by harping on real or imagined demographics only makes matters worse: A fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict for everyone's sake is the best way forward. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
 
 NOTES:

The Arab Peace Initiative requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well...

"It's a simple dictum, but one that many still have trouble accepting: Israelis and Palestinians have to talk to each other if they're going to get anywhere." Hussein Ibish: We Need To Talk

This week, #Israeli #settlers vandalized 400 #Palestinian-owned olive trees. Total trees damaged by settlers since start of 2012: over 2,560 General Delegation of the PLO to the United States via twitter

Demolition watch: The Israeli practice of demolishing homes, basic infrastructure and sources of livelihoods continues to devastate Palestinian families and communities in East Jerusalem and the 60 per cent of the West Bank controlled by Israel, known as Area C.


Refugees and the Right of Return
Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer a decision must not be imposed upon them.

UN Resolution 194 Article 11: [The General Assembly]
Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest possible date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the governments or authorities responsible; instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain close relations with the Director of the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees and, through him, with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations.

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