Almost immediately after the July 11-25 Camp David Summit ended without an agreement, or in failure as many chose to describe it, talk of a new summit began to emerge.
But a senior Palestinian negotiator cautioned from a new summit, saying that the gaps between the Palestinians and Israelis on the core issues of Jerusalem, refugees, borders and security remain very wide.
"A lot of work needs to be done before even thinking of another summit. An unsuccessful summit would serve a great blow to the peace process, if not successful, it would result in a catastrophe," said Ahmed Qurie, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the chief Palestinian negotiator for the final status talks.
Qurie refused to go into any details of the Camp David talks and refused to indicate how much of the "progress" the Summit reportedly made, has actually been made.
"The progress was in that the two sides for the first time discussed the core and difficult issues of the final status," Qurie said.
Qurie was quick to add that Israel made no change in her positions and that in a summit where the ground rules were if there is no agreement on everything then there is no agreement on anything, Israel's stance made it impossible to move forward let alone reach an agreement.
At Camp David four key issues were on the table, Jerusalem, refugees, borders and security. On all these issues, Qurie said the gaps between the two sides are big.
The Palestinians went to Camp David on the basis that negotiations on all the issues would be based on UN resolutions and international opinion. What they found was an Israeli delegation that did not want to discuss those resolutions.
Qurie summarized the positions of both sides as follows:
Jerusalem
The Palestinians argue that the city is part of lands occupied in 1967 and illegally annexed by Israel. UN Resolution 242 that calls on Israel to withdraw from all territory occupied in 1967 and international opinion, which does not recognize the annexation of the city, should be implemented. Thus, Palestinians must have sovereignty over the city. The Palestinians are willing to have it an open city and secure the religious freedoms of all.
The Israelis say Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel. They proposed to negotiate on the city in parts, i.e. the holy places, the suburbs and boroughs, taking into consideration the Palestinian concerns.
Refugees
The Palestinians rely on UN Resolution 194 as the basis of their position. The resolution calls for the right of return for all refugees and a right to compensation.
Israel does not recognize the principle of the right of return, thus ignoring international opinion. Israel is willing to look at the refugee issue from a humanitarian perspective and allow the return of some refugees within a family reunification plan. As for compensation, Israel recognizes this but says the international community must help Israel pay the bill.
Borders
The Palestinians want a return to the 1967 pre-war border as stipulated in UN Resolution 242. The Palestinians agree to some amendments to the border within a land swap agreement, the exchange of land for land that is equal in size and quality.
Israel has yet to agree to a return to the1967 borders. Israel wants to keep some of the land where large Jewish settlements exist.
Security
Palestinians want security arrangements that reflect the concerns of both Palestinians and Israelis. A security agreement should not undermine Palestinian sovereignty and control of its territory.
Israel defines security as having control over Palestinians both inside their territory and outside.
To reach an agreement that could withstand time and be accepted by the people, Israel, Qurie said, must show good intensions and negotiated based on UN resolutions and immediately stop all settlement activity and release all Palestinian prisoners.
The sides don't have much time to conclude a final agreement. The sides set Sept. 13 as a deadline and the Palestinian Central Council has set that date to declare an independent state.
