The International Herald Tribune published a discussion on Israeli-Paletstinian conflict and the possiblilty of a two state solution – ‘Two states of being’. Very interesting, insightful and worth a read.
Here are some of the views of the Palestinian politician and president of the Jersualem’s Al Quds University, Sari Nusseibeh, and Israeli writer and journalist Amoz Oz. Both lived through the Middle Eastern saga. Both come to terms with the compromise of accepting the mixed fruits of an independent Israel and Palestine:
On childhood…
Nusseibeh: “I grew up on my side of the wall, so to speak, I grew up thinking that they were very evil creatures. They had robbed me — and not just me but also, and more importantly, my family — of not just a piece of land, but of a life.”
Oz: “My initial emotion was also fairly black and white. We were the owners of the country. It was our ancient ancestral land.”
On a change of mind…
Oz: “I’m not pro-Palestinian today. But I learned that this narrative is valid and that there is a clash between two valid narratives, two valid claims over the same land.”
On a two state solution…
Nesseibeh: “It’s a question of something happening or something coming up, whether it’s a leader or something else, in our society or in yours, or in both, that will somehow break the barrier. It’s like looking for a political magician.”
Oz: “Palestinians are being asked to give up part of their home. This is a huge sacrifice, which very few nations have been asked to make. For us, the land of Israel is our ancestral land and the only homeland we’ve ever had as a people. And both sides will have to part with some of their historical claims, some of their longing, some of what they regard as their legitimate rights, in order to have a future.”
On the past and the future…
Oz to Nusseibeh: “But you, Sari, personally, let me ask you: The notion that Arad, where I live and where you have visited me, is no longer Palestine, that it is never going to be part of Palestine, is this a painful realization, a sacrifice?”
Nusseibeh: “No. I’m now looking for something similar to Arad in Palestine, and I’m trying to build my own dream there. And I think that as long as we have good relations between Israel and Palestine and I can come and visit Arad …”
By Sella Oneko
Source: International Herald Tribune. Global Agenda 2011. 2 December 2010.
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