Paris Conference to Affirm Integrity of Palestine Within Pre-1967 Borders

by Stephen Lendman

On January 20, over 70 countries will meet in Paris, another futile attempt to revive Israeli/Palestinian peace talks.

They're dead on arrival each time initiated because Israel rejects peace and stability. Years earlier, Netanyahu called peace talks "a waste of time."

Israel doesn't negotiate. It demands. Palestinians have been ruthlessly slaughtered and persecuted for decades, Israeli ruthlessness under Netanyahu and his fascist-infested regime worst of all.

According to a draft statement AP News obtained, nations meeting in Paris will urge Israel and Palestinians "to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution."

It's no longer possible with Israel controlling around 85% of historic Palestine, including all valued territory, Palestinians left with nothing but isolated bantustans, impossible to cobble together into a viable state.

The draft statement also affirms the international community "will not recognize" changes to Israel's pre-1967 borders without agreement by both sides.

Well over 600,000 Israeli settlers reside on stolen Palestinian land. Security Council Resolution 2334 ruled all settlements illegal.

Sunday's meeting will change nothing on the ground because no enforcement mechanism exists. Netanyahu called Sunday's conference "rigged" against Israel. As foreign and prime minister, he won't participate, blustering:

"This conference is a fraud, a Palestinian scam under French auspices, whose goal is to lead to the adoption of additional anti-Israeli positions."

The draft statement calls for what's impossible to achieve - both sides "demonstrat(ing), through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solution and refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of final-status negotiations, in order to rebuild trust and create a path back to meaningful direct negotiations."

A similar French conference last June, attended by foreign ministers from 30 countries, accomplished nothing. Nor will Sunday's.

Decades of conflict won't be resolved unless and until the international community affords long-suffering Palestinians justice they've long been denied, making Israel pay a stiff price for obstructing it.

Conferences and Security Council resolutions are useless without enforcement mechanisms with teeth backing them.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

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