Ah! But There Are Preconditions, Mr. Netanyahu

How can building Israeli settlements in occupied territories be compatible with withdrawal? Ending this contradiction should be the precondition for starting direct negotiations.
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One can only admire the performance of Benyamin Netanyahu at theCouncil on Foreign Relations in New York last Thursday. Sure-footed andflexible, he avoided traps and fielded questions with aplomb and seemingreasonableness.

Mr. Netanyahu wants to get started immediately with direct negotiations withPalestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. But the Palestinians keep throwing uppreconditions, Mr. Netanyahu said, as he reaffirmed his willingness to enter talkswithout any preconditions.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? But there are preconditions. How was the1967 war ended? With UN Security Council Resolution 242, calling on the Israelisto withdraw from territories occupied during the conflict. This Resolution wasreaffirmed in Resolution 338 following the 1973 war.

So, in building settlements in Arab East Jerusalem and the West Bank,occupied during the 1967 war, Israel is flying in the face of UN Resolutions callingfor withdrawal from occupied territories. How can building Israeli settlements inoccupied territories be compatible with withdrawal? Ending this contradictionshould be the precondition for starting direct negotiations. On verra.

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