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January 26, 2011
Palestinian Legal Advisor: Netanyanu's Acceptance of Palestinian State "Earth Shattering"
In one of the documents publicized by the al Jazeera and the Guardian, a Palestinian official describes Binyamin Netanyahu's acceptance of two states as "earth shattering."
Predictably, this was ignored in the many articles by the two media organizations that released the documents, as they appear intent on casting the documents as evidence of Palestinian capitulation to Israel, and of Israeli intransigence. But it was also overlooked by the news organizations that reported on the papers more responsibly.
According to one of the documents, Bader Rock, a legal adviser for the Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit, said in response to a question about how Israelis were reacting to a major Netanyahu speech that
It's too early to tell, but it's welcoming. Likud accepting two states is earth shattering. Sharon left Likud because he wouldn't have survived there.
Prompted by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, Rock went on to say that Netanyahu's acceptance was rhetorical. Nonetheless, use of the term "earth shattering" in an internal Palestinian discussion would certainly suggest that the Palestinians, at least, recognize Israeli steps as truly being "far reaching."
You can see the exchange on page 7 here.
Posted by GI at January 26, 2011 04:14 PM
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