Annapolis and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

**Rex Brynen** · 10-11-2007

Some very sensible advice, in my view, regarding the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian peace conference:

Because a comprehensive peace accord is unattainable by November, the conference should focus on the endgame and endorse the contours of a permanent peace, which in turn should be enshrined in a Security Council resolution. Israeli and Palestinian leaders should strive to reach such an agreement. If they cannot, the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and UN Secretary General)—under whose aegis the conference ought to be held— should put forward its own outline, based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the Clinton parameters of 2000, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and the 2003 Roadmap. It should reflect the following:

• Two states, based on the lines of June 4, 1967, with minor, reciprocal, and agreed-upon modifications as expressed in a 1:1 land swap;

• Jerusalem as home to two capitals, with Jewish neighborhoods falling under Israeli sovereignty and Arab neighborhoods under Palestinian sovereignty;

• Special arrangements for the Old City, providing each side control of its respective holy places and unimpeded access by each community to them;

• A solution to the refugee problem that is consistent with the two-state solution, addresses the Palestinian refugees’ deep sense of injustice as well as provides them with meaningful financial compensation and resettlement assistance;

• Security mechanisms that address Israeli concerns while respecting Palestinian sovereignty.

The letter is signed by Zbigniew Brzezinski (former National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter), Lee H. Hamilton (former Congressman and Co-chair of the Iraq Study Group), Carla Hills (former U.S. Trade Representative under President George H.W. Bush), Nancy Kassebaum-Baker (former Senator), Thomas R. Pickering (former Under-Secretary of State ), Brent Scowcroft (former National Security Advisor to President Gerald Ford and President George H.W. Bush), Theodore C. Sorensen, (former Special Counsel and Adviser to President John F. Kennedy), and
Paul Volcker (former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System).

Full letter and discussion at Daniel Levy's excellent blog.

**Tom Odom** · 10-11-2007

Rex,

Remarkable letter and quite realistic in goals.

Here is what will derail it:

Of utmost importance, if the conference is to have any credibility, it must coincide with a freeze in Israeli settlement expansion. It is impossible to conduct a serious discussion on ending the occupation while settlement construction proceeds apace.

The Israelis have consistently ignored or subverted all attempts to force a freeze. I wish and hope that we do push this. But I just don't see that happening from SecState Rice in this administration. Hope I am wrong.

Best

Tom