The Palestinian/ Israeli conflict and the fragile Peace Process is now back on the priority list of every media outlet around the world. Last night, the Qatar based Al-Jazeera TV Channel broadcast over 1600 leaked documents that show Palestinian readiness to make a major compromises. The documents purport gave a rare glimpse into the secret deals offered to the Israelis during the past 2 years, particularly about the touchy subjects of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jerusalem.
Two nights ago, Israel's Foreign Minister Aviagdor Lieberman, a man known for his opposition to any peace negotiations with the Palestinians, has offered the Palestinians a state. Lieberman drafted a plan for setting up a Palestinian state within provisional borders on 40-50 percent of West Bank territory; divided in several areas and linked by roads.
This comes after several months of turmoil in the peace process with each side blaming the other for failure. As a result, the timing of these releases and leaks is suspicious. Also, looking deeply into the information provided by the leaked documents, we find that most of these offers were made more than 10 years ago by the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during the Camp David negotiations. "Liberman's Map" was also discussed by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon before the 2005 pull out from Israeli Settlements in Gaza.
For Israel, an interim agreement is a way out. Netamyahu's government is looking to offer alternatives to the Palestinian Authority’s plan to ask the United Nations Security Council for a vote on a resolution calling Israel to stop the settlement in the Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem. The Israelis also want to fight the diplomatic success of the Palestinian Authority which is gaining them support of the international community including the United States.
For the Palestinian Authority, leaked documents are " lies, fabricated and half truths" because government officials believe it was published to sway public opinion against the Palestinian Authority by showing representatives were prepared to accept major compromises on the Palestinian rights. They say Lieberman's plan is meant to waste time by recycling an old offer for an interim agreement and to divert international attention from pressing Israel on its commitments to establish a Palestinian State.
Form the people on the street, I like two Facebook comments by Palestinians this morning. First one wrote: "If the Palestinian Authority is ready to make all these compromises, why they did not reach an agreement with Israel and we are living in Peace now, bizarre!" The second was better:" I still see the checkpoints, settlements building continue and nothing is changed on the ground, so who cares? Right! " People in the Middle East are looking for good deeds to change their life and they tend not to trust officials peace plans "as seen on TV" only.
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