by Walter Onubogu

Created on: June 24, 2008

I believe that Jerusalem should be split between Palestinians and Jews.

It is necessary to understand that wihtout any such division, the Crises in the Middle East will continue to remain intractible for a long time. Palestinians and Jews both continue to lay complete claim to the ancient city without realising that they are equally entitled to it.

I think the Israelis must accommodate the Palestinians without pre-conditions in respect to East Jerusalem being their capital city. My point here is that territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state (compromsing the West Bank and Gaza) is already compromised by the fact that the Israelis in violation of international law and agreements have built a barrier on Palestinian land and continue to also build Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.

Its easy to refuse Palestinians the right of return to lands that were expriopriated by Israelis after the establishment of Israel as nation state ( Palestinians refer to the establishment of Israel on their land as Naqba - The Great Catastrophy), but in the long run this will rermain an obstacle towards achieving peace.

So Israel should accept that East Jerusalem will become the capital of a newly created Palestinian state. It would also show that Israel has the ability to comprise, while in return demanding security concessions from the Palestinians. President Mahmoud Abbas would be receptive to Israeli concerns, but he cannot do so if Israel continues to be intransigent.

A divided Jerusalem wouldn't necessarily mean that Jerusalem would end being like another Cold War Berlin or Nicosia in Cyprus. No if both sides agree on many things, like transit or residency and employment rights and economic linkages, it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The Palestinians in turn must also curtail acts of terrorism against Israel in order to show their good will and interest towards achieving co-existence with the Israelis. This will be possible only if Mahmound Abbas can convince Palestinians to switch their support back from the radical Islamists to his moderate Fatah Movement in the Palestinian Authority. If Hamas retains alot of support the question of Jerusalem will never be solved because they demand nothing less then the extinction of the Jewish - Zionist nation state. Such a position will discredit the Palestinians and they must be weary of aligning themselves with it. Israel has a right to exist as well.

So compromise is the way forward for both Palestinians and Israelis, but it really depends on their political intelligence to realise what is at stake here and not prolongue and reinforce their divisions for political or selfish gains, that doesn't help anyone. This will destroy any prospects in relation to the 2 state solution and the question over Jerusalem.

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