Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 17/10 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 07.- 20. September 2010 1. Fortsetzung direkter Friedens­gespräche Am 14. September trafen der israelische Premier­minister Benjamin Netanyahu und der palästinen­sische Präsident Mahmud Abbas im ägyptischen Sharm el-Sheikh zur zweiten Runde der direkten Friedensgespräche, die zwei Wochen zuvor be­gonnen hatten, zusammen. Obwohl keine offiziellen Angaben zum Inhalt der Gespräche gemacht wurden, hieß es aus regierungsnahen Quellen, Grenz- und Sicherheitsfragen hätten im Zentrum des Treffens gestanden. Die Gespräche wurden am 15. September in Jerusalem fortgeführt. Abbas hatte angekündigt, keine Konzessionen bei palästinensischen Grundpositionen wie dem Rückkehrrecht machen zu wollen. Netanyahu wollte sich gleichzeitig nicht auf eine Verlängerung des Siedlungsbaustopps im Westjordanland fest-legen. Dementsprechend fielen die Einschätzungen israelischer Kommentatoren zumeist negativ aus. Der US-Nahostgesandte George Mitchell zeigte sich hingegen optimistisch und sprach von Fortschritten bei den Verhandlungen. Plan B for peace “There is a problem: In exchange for what Netanyahu is willing to give, he is demanding an end to the conflict. In exchange for an end to the conflict, the Palestinians are demanding what he is not willing to give.[…] The trail that led to the abyss of Camp David and the abyss of Annapolis is leading to the abyss today as well. A permanent Israeli­Palestinian peace requires the fulfillment of six well­known principles: recognition of a Jewish and democratic state, establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, the division of Jerusalem, an extensive evacuation of settlements, no right of return for Palestinian refugees and agreement on a border. But there is at least one principle to which the Palestinians will not agree: They will not give up their demand for a right of return. And there is at least one principle to which Netanyahu will not agree: He will not share sovereignty over the Temple Mount.[…] The only solution is to think out of the box.[…] To sit Israelis and Palestinians down in a closed room and task them with formulating a long-term interim agreement[…]: Division of the land now, peace later.” Ari Shavit, HAA 18.09.10 The negotiations illusion “The leftists are saying that the Netanyahu government will thwart any agreement, and that’s true. The rightists are saying that the Palestinians will thwart any agreement, and we would do well to remember that this is true as well.[…] So perhaps we need to look reality in the eye, and accept two basic facts. The first one, as opposed to the leftist view, is that the current round of negotiations is no more than another attempt by two refusenik sides to buy time. The second fact, which contradicts the rightist view, is that time is in their favor, not in our favor. Our international status is being eroded and we are gradually turning into a minority in the Land of Israel. Hence, we would do well to let go of the negotiations illusion and start to plan another unilateral move in Judea and Samaria – because the alternative to partitioning the land is Zionism’s demise.” Gadi Taub, JED 14.09.10 The perils of diplomatic theater “With Hamas in charge in Gaza and widely supported in Judea and Samaria, Abbas will probably not risk signing a peace deal with Israel that will likely serve as his death warrant. But the same observers who bemoan the poor chances for a treaty ignore the fact that the alternative – that Abbas signs a peace deal with Israel – would be a disaster for Israel. Any deal Israel signs with the 1