Middle East think-tank Bicom held a closed-doors conference in London at the end of last year to explore new ways to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The gathering, which was attended by former and current officials, academics and security figures from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, produced a strong consensus that the bilateral model of negotiations whereby “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” should be discarded.
Both sides agreed that a successful process relies on a secret bilateral back-channel with strong third party involvement at the right moment, including Arab countries.
Both delegations were deeply concerned about public opinion in their respective countries and agreed on the urgent need to create a single, strong civil-society, pro-peace movement. The Israeli side believed that involving Sunni Arab states would have a very positive influence on Israeli public opinion.
The Israeli and Palestinian delegates remained at odds about what constitutes the core of the conflict: Palestinians referred to the occupation as the principal reason for the conflict but Israelis saw the challenge as multi-dimensional, citing the need for recognition of the Jewish people’s connection to the land and the resolution of grave security issues.
James Sorene, BICOM CEO, said: “These talks were constructive and serious, we broke new ground with some clear proposals for future negotiations and rare points of agreement.
“Today’s report is a unique critique, by both sides, of the various ideas that have been proposed and a valuable contribution to the ongoing quest for successful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.”
Names of participants were not revealed by Bicom.
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