The Palestinians probably rubbed their eyes in disbelief but it wasn’t a mistake: according to word from New York, Russia and the United States were proposing a resolution on the Middle East to the UN Security Council which would codify “the progress made in negotiations in recent months.” What progress? The proposed resolution is conspicuously silent on that point. The parties involved, according to the proposed resolution, should live up to their previous promises, push for new negotiations and strengthen their trust in one another. In other words, it’s nothing more than a collection of high-level diplomatic platitudes.
Is this supposed to be a cheap farewell gift for George Bush or perhaps show that Russia and the United States are still capable of presenting joint resolutions? The proposal can be considered fascinating only if it’s understood as a joke, but Palestinians who have been demoted to the status of negotiable objects probably won’t find much to laugh at.
The true picture of “progress in negotiations” was made clear by Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Kureia this past weekend. According to Kureia, Israel refuses to negotiate anything regarding eastern Jerusalem and wants to keep 6.8 percent of the occupied West Bank that it then intends to divide up into several small enclaves. Is this the progress the great powers want to codify? Kureia says that’s “a joke, not a solution.”
The people living in Palestinian refugee camps probably won’t find much to laugh at, either.
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