The former peace negotiator said, "From 1994 to 1999, it was paradise." "Then there is a real possibility of peace. Today, I don't see it."
About 27 years ago, two officials - a Palestinian and an Israeli - felt their sides had found a way to peace. Now, as Israel discusses a plan to topple Palestinians for a future state, their hopes for a shared future, with both sides looking to collapse, seem to be slipping.
Nabil Shaikh clearly recalled that the 1993 Oslo Accord closed with a handshake on the White House lawn, hoping that the Palestinians would soon have a state with Israel.
"I think it is entirely possible to have the separate Middle East with prosperity and peace and stability in 20, 25 years," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an adviser on foreign affairs and international relations.
Leading the Palestinian effort to implement the 1993 agreement in further peace talks with Israel, Shat said, "What do I expect today? Anarchy."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 1 that his plan to expand Israel's sovereignty over the region in the West Bank would begin a debate on the future state of Palestine. One of his main campaigns was deals with right-wing voters before the March election.
The exact status of Netanyahu's plan is unclear, but he suggested it would fit into the Trump administration's plan for peace in the region, which was announced in January. The so-called "Deal of the Century" allows Israel to participate in a third of the West Bank, as well as major settlement blocks, as well as strategic and fertile Jordan Valley, the region's breadbasket, across the Jordan border.
However, it was rejected and seized by Palestinians who were not involved in developing the Trump plan, which would leave them with scattered territories. The proposal imposes conditions on the state, including law enforcement regulations, free and fair elections, and demonetization.
Another official, Israeli Yosei Beilin, was one of the chief architects of the 1993 historic Oslo peace process with the Palestinians as Israel's foreign minister. He cautioned against the unilateral declaration, saying it would lead to more realities than the two independent states.
However, it was rejected and seized by Palestinians who were not involved in developing the Trump plan, which would leave them with scattered territories. The proposal imposes conditions on the state, including law enforcement regulations, free and fair elections, and demonetization.
Another official, Israeli Yosei Beilin, was one of the chief architects of the 1993 historic Oslo peace process with the Palestinians as Israel's foreign minister. He cautioned against the unilateral declaration, saying it would lead to more realities than the two independent states.
In that situation, it would become difficult to deny Palestinians Israeli citizenship without Israel's being accused of creating an apartheid state and jeopardizing the Jewish majority in Israel.
"The world will move from the support of the two-state solution to one-person, one-vote," Beilin said. "If on the 1st of July there is annexation, the threat against the Jewish state is huge."
By contrast, Shaath said the Palestinians would accept a democratic, secular state for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Annexation would violate international law, peace agreements, and the Oslo Accord said Shaath, who negotiated with Beilin, directly and indirectly, for years.
Another official, Israeli Yosei Beilin, was one of the chief architects of the 1993 historic Oslo peace process with the Palestinians as Israel's foreign minister. He cautioned against the unilateral declaration, saying it would lead to more realities than the two independent states.
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