Self Determination
Yana Knopova
Coalition of Women For Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ We think that whoever promotes the notion of a two-state solution holds a capitalist view. All the factories will move to Palestine, workers there will not have any social protection and will be used by the Israeli upper class, all the Palestinian-Israelis, Mizrachi people, and whoever works in the factories now will be left jobless. There is an upper class that benefits in Palestine too, but also in Israel. For me there is no view that furthers the existence of two states but an economic confederation. Economically speaking, we should be under joint jurisdiction, which would not threaten workers on both sides and would improve the status of workers in Palestine.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Riyad Faraj
Parents Circle-Bereaved Families Forum
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Today if you watch the news or the political situation that we live in, you will find that even the extreme Palestinian parties like the Jihad and Hamas are asking for the lands of '67. It's the Israelis who don't want to give it to us. There's no way that a state will be established in the lands of '67, even though that is what we are asking for now. I mean, there's a settlement one kilometer away from me and there's no way that the Israelis will remove it. It's taking up more than half of Bethlehem's area. The wall that they are building has taken in more land than the lands of '67! So how much is left of the lands of '67?” [Source in Complete Interview]
Melisse Lewine-Boskovich
Peace Child Israel
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Cross-border folks [people working together from opposite sides of the Green Line] who work in this field have pretty much arrived at an agreement: two states for two nations, a two-state solution. The ones who are still talking or doing peace building agree on that. They agree. They may not totally agree on the refugees and right of return, but basically most of them agree to two states. There are many people inside the country for whom that is not a solution. For Arabs and Jews inside Israel who are working on bi-lateral processes with adults or kids, I can say for sure, there hasn't been a reality check to see if we're on the same page. What do we want to see at the end of the day? The reason there hasn't been one is that they're afraid that if they had that process, everything would fall apart, and it probably would.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Dr. Ron Pundak
Peres Center for Peace, Peace NGOs Forum
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ We [the Israeli leadership] were stingy [during the Oslo process] on the issue of prisoners, the economy, and almost everything-- not because we wanted to sabotage the process, but because from our point of view, all this might have led to a Palestinian state, which we did not dare to say out-loud-- for example, partition of Jerusalem, which is a must for any agreement. If we continue to say during negotiations that Jerusalem will always be under Israeli control, we are pushing aside Palestinian legitimate activities and sending the wrong message in regards to what we want to have. So to sum it up in a nut-shell, I think we screwed it up. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Abigail Jacobson
Hands of Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I see this as a national conflict, rather than a religious conflict. There are religious elements to it, but the conflict itself isn't about religion, it isn't an inter-religious conflict, it's between two national groups: the Israeli group, which has realized and is realizing its national identity, and the Palestinian group, whose national identity has not yet been realized. It's a territorial conflict, a national and territorial conflict, and its solution is very clear to me. So clear, yet so far away, unfortunately!” [Source in Complete Interview]
Majed Tbeileh
Nablus Youth Federation, The Future Generation Hands Committee
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I think that the most important thing for us as Palestinians and as youth is to recognize that there are two countries for two people. This is the first step to ending the conflict. We live a life of occupation and closure, and when we visit Jordan or another country we feel that it is a different world. We should be able to manage our own affairs and have our own agenda and not rely on the help of other countries. We want Jerusalem to be the capital of the Palestinian state, and we won’t accept the criticism from other Arab nations about our handling of this issue, because they are not living in the same hard conditions that we live in. Palestinian youth should not leave their homeland and seek a life abroad. They should stay in Palestine, withstand the situation, and seek peace as a means of improving their lives in Palestine.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Shlomi Daskal
The People's Voice, Realistic Religious Zionism
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ The project [The People's Voice] is a civilian, joint Israel-Palestinian initiative that is an attempt to achieve peace. The initiative states a very simple thing. All the former initiatives failed for a simple reason, because we never set a target. For the first time we’re saying that we aim to arrive at a certain place. The document includes six principles. It was drafted by Israelis and Palestinians together, not by only one side. It is based on six ideas: two states for two peoples, accepting the pre-1967 borders, and evacuating settlements, Jerusalem as a free city; Palestinian neighborhoods will be governed by Palestinian rule and Jewish neighborhoods will be governed by Israel. The right of return will apply only to the Palestinian state, just as Jews will have the right of return to Israel. The Palestinian state will be a demilitarized zone. After all this happens comes the sixth clause, which pronounces the conflict over and the mutual claims fulfilled.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Walid Salem
Panorama
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I want there to be a democratic Palestinian state. I want there to be elections in Palestine, but not only that. Elections are a form of democracy, but elections alone are not democracy. I want there to be no concentration of power in the hands of certain political groups. I want the provinces to have certain authorities. I want there to be an elected council and a parliament for every city or province, in addition to the general parliament of the country. This will prevent the concentration of power, and allow greater political participation by the people. Some call this decentralization of power and others call it vertical division of power. I prefer the second name. There is horizontal division of authority, which is the constitutional and legal division of power, and there is the vertical division of power, which means that the central authority gives certain power to the local authorities.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Dimitri Diliani
People's Campaign for Peace and Democracy
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Palestinians have a clear national goal: the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Likewise for the Israelis, the Zionist Movement is founded upon the goal of establishing a national home for the Jewish people. The ironic thing is that the two objectives are consistent. The Palestinians agree to have their state along the 1967 border. Israel cannot be a Jewish national home if it continues to have four million Palestinian Arabs living inside it. In other words, Israel cannot continue to occupy us. […] So it is in Israelis' interest to agree to a kind of separation. They have their country and we have ours. And this is precisely our national goal, as Palestinians. So, in principle, there is agreement on a two-state solution. […] However, if a two-state solution is not implemented, Palestinians are going to call for a bi-national state. Continuing to live under occupation is not an option: if we cannot get a state, then at least give us rights as citizens in your state. If this happens, however, then neither the national Palestinian objective nor the Zionist dream will be achieved. So it is in everyone's interest to establish two states for two nations.” [Source in Complete Interview]
