'Our Struggle with the Israelis Is Not Because They Are Jewish'

New Statesman › October 15, 2009

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Summary

The key to peace in the Middle East is restoration of international law and the recognition of the right of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews to live in peace and security side by side. [...] al-Qaeda's supporters in Gaza are so hostile to Hamas that they have declared war on it. Crossings are closed most of the time and for months victims of the Israeli war on Gaza have been denied access to construction materials to rebuild their destroyed homes.

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Extract

'Our Struggle with the Israelis Is Not Because They Are Jewish'

The key to peace in the Middle East is restoration of international law and the recognition of the right of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews to live in peace and security side by side. As President Obama says, there is no peace process today. Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, continues to extend illegal settlements in the West Bank andEast Jerusalem andmaintain a near-complete blockade of Gaza. Palestinians fire ineffectual rockets into Israel. Israel regularly attacks Palestinian territories with modern weapons.

No major conflict can be resolved without each side talking to the other. That was the case in South Africa, Ireland and countless other situations where people said they would never talk to their opponents. I was vilified in the Eighties for saying that, to resolve the Irish conflict, you had to talk to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

In the Middle East, peace can only be achieved through discussion between the elected representatives of both the Israelis and the Palestinians - and that means Hamas, which won a big majority in the last Palestinian parliamentary election, as well asFatah. This does not mean that I agree with the views of Hamas, Fatah o...

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