CAMERA Letter to the Editor in Philadelphia Inquirer: Palestinian Authority Rejected Peace

The May 28 article “Trump plans to unveil Mideast peace plan” quotes former U.S. Amb. R. Nicholas Burns who asserts, “the Palestinian cause is and always has been about a state and justice.” But history says otherwise.

In fact, Palestinian leaders have rejected U.S. and Israeli offers for statehood in exchange for peace in 2000 at Camp David, 2001 at Taba and 2008 after the Annapolis Conference, among other instances. The Palestinian Authority also turned down proposals to restart talks in 2014 and 2016—before Trump took office.

The report asserts that the Trump administration “slashed millions of dollars in U.S. aid,” but omits the reason why: The PA’s refusal to quit paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and their families.

The PA’s decision to promote terrorism and its refusal to resolve outstanding issues in bilateral negotiations violate the very terms of the Oslo peace accords that created the Authority in the first place. If there’s been a death of the two-state solution, an inquest would find Palestinian leadership responsible.

Sincerely,

Sean Durns

Washington D.C.

The writer is a Senior Research Analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America

(Note: The above letter to the editor appeared in the June 4, 2019 print edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer as “Mideast Peace Talks,” and was in response to a May 28, 2019 article)