Israeli peace activists and PA officials attack Israel in peace "dialogue," attended by anti-Israel figures such as Abbas Zaki and Omar Al-Ghoul
Headline: “An Israeli delegation of past leaders: We will work to convey the truth to the Israelis”
“More than 20 former leaders and senior officials in the Israeli government who represent different sectors of Israeli society expressed their position supporting ending the Israeli occupation and implementing the two-state solution in the June 4, 1967 borders according to the international organizations’ resolutions.
This was in the framework of a dialogue meeting that was held yesterday, Thursday, [Oct. 21, 2021,] at the [PA] presidential headquarters in Ramallah organized by the [PA] Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, in the presence of a number of Fatah Central Committee members and a number of leadership figures.
The head of the Israeli delegation, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Office Director Attorney Dov Weissglas, said: ‘There is no one among us now in an official position, but that does not prevent our ability to influence the public opinion in Israel and work to pave the way to peace.’
In his speech, Weissglas reviewed the conditions of the current [Israeli] government and said that ‘Despite the gap between its components, this does not negate that most of the Israeli people supports a political solution with the Palestinians and ending the conflict with them.’
He added: ‘We are convinced that the majority is convinced that neither we nor you (the Palestinians) [parentheses in source] have the ability to remove the other, and there is no option other than a solution that will lead us to living in proximity in two states on the basis of mutual respect and security.’
In the context of his speech, he emphasized the position of the Israeli figures participating in the delegation to work to convince the Israeli public and spur the Israeli government to end the conflict and turn to a just and comprehensive peace relying on the international organizations’ resolutions. Fatah Central Committee member [and Fatah Commissioner for Arab and China Relations] Abbas Zaki welcomed the delegation, and in his speech reviewed the current political position in the shadow of the ongoing Israeli measures. He emphasized the options presented by [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas in his speech before the UN General Assembly in September [2021]: Advancing towards a democratic state for everyone, implementing the partition resolution (i.e., UN Resolution 181; see note below), or advancing towards the two-state solution.
He emphasized in his speech before those present that ‘The timeframe that President Abbas called for that will be a period for activity to end the conflict is ending quicker than you imagine.’ He called on the Israeli leadership to advance in a peace process that will end the Israeli occupation through the independence of the State of Palestine in the June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with all the international organizations’ resolutions. Israeli researcher Shaul Arieli, who is active in solving the conflict and author of ‘Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict,’ said: ‘We represent important sectors in the Israeli society, and I want to emphasize what former Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Sharett said – that the solution of the conflict does not rest on interests, but rather on removing the obstacles that stand before advancing towards peace, which requires firm intent and will.’
He added: ‘We take on ourselves the mission of conveying the truth that is happening here (in Ramallah) [parentheses in source] and we will convey all the opinions calling to end the occupation. I am convinced that everyone among us will return to his friends and surroundings and convey to them all the positions that they heard regarding peace.’
Former Israeli Ministry of Justice Director-General and Director-General of the Israel Insurance Association] Guy Rotkopf emphasized that all the forces in Israel need to strive ‘to besiege the forces that oppose peace and seek ignite the conflict.’
Israeli [news] website Ynet Editor in Chief Yaron Fir (sic., Yon Feder) wished President Abbas a long life in order to carry out the peace process and end the conflict.
In his speech he wondered about the importance of ending the conflict and establishing a just and comprehensive peace and about the points of view coming from the Palestinian leadership, and Zaki answered this by saying: ‘In the coming period the PLO Central Council will convene, and Fatah will also hold its eighth conference on March 21, 2022, and there will be a qualitative change in Palestinian life.’ He added: ‘We are working diligently on peace despite the extremist position in Israel. We have great patience to end this conflict.’
It should be noted that… present at the meeting from the Palestinian side were former Ambassador of Palestine in France Salman Al-Harfi, [regular columnist for the official PA daily] writer Omar [Hilmi] Al-Ghoul, [PA Security Forces] Maj. Gen. res. Alaa Hosni, and additional PLO members.”
UN Resolution 181 (the UN partition plan for Palestine) was passed by the UN General Assembly in 1947. It called for the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as a separate entity under the rule of a special international body. The Arab state was meant to be comprised of the western Galilee, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and the remaining territory of the Mandate west of the Jordan River would be the state of Israel - Jordan (known at the time as Transjordan) had already been established in what had been the part of the Mandate that was east of the Jordan River. The resolution was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, but Arab leaders and governments rejected it, and launched a war to destroy Israel.