Palestinians can take the initiative after Israel balks


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If the White House was trying to fire a warning shot at the United States' "unshakeable" ally in the Middle East, it hit its target. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, at the weekend responded defensively to President Barack Obama's suggestion that peace with the Palestinians depended on a return to pre-1967 borders.

"Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace," Mr Netanyahu said in Washington, but "it cannot go back to the 1967 lines. These lines are indefensible".

It was a stark rejection of any common ground for negotiations that have proceeded, in fits and starts, for nearly two decades. UN Resolution 242, which calls on Israel to withdraw from territory seized in the 1967 war, had been an outline for talks that Mr Netanyahu's predecessors accepted. Now, the Israeli prime minister is saying, Israel will unilaterally set its own borders - although it won't say what those borders are. So much for the "land for peace" model.

The US president deserves some credit for backing Mr Netanyahu into a corner, but Washington cannot be relied upon to keep up the pressure. Palestinians need to offer their own alternative to fill the void.

Israel has not offered a plan, but merely a rejection. That leaves it vulnerable to international pressure - never has its bad faith negotiations, delaying tactics abetting illegal land grabs, and lack of a realistic long-term solution been more apparent.

In the face of its intransigence, the only lever on Israel's behaviour is the moral argument, but it is an argument that almost every other country, besides the US, will understand. Isolation in the international community will sway hearts and minds; Israelis should come to the realisation that Mr Netanyahu is leading them nowhere.

First, Palestinians have to address their own internal divisions,as last month's reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas began to do. Hamas's leaders need to go further and denounce violence. Nothing could do more harm to the Palestinian cause than to justify Israel's security fears by shedding blood.

Then, a plan for statehood needs to be offered. The model, of course, is already there in the Arab Peace Initiative - it has been for a decade.

As the UN General Assembly nears a vote on recognising a Palestinian state, it is almost certain that a unified Palestinian front would carry the day.European countries, including Israel's key ally Germany, have made clear their frustration.

Mr Obama may be constrained by domestic politics, but Washington is no longer the only broker. At the weekend, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul called on Hamas to recognise Israel's right to exist. If Arab states did the same and offered guarantees of a permanent peace, it would expose Israel's claim to "defensible" borders as irrelevant. A secure Israel would be stripped of its last justification for draconian measures against Palestinians.

Mr Netanyahu will undoubtedly hold the party line for the rest of his US visit, but his statements have always been more about stall tactics than solutions. It is time the Palestinians offer their own clear plan, because it will be the only real plan on the table.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

PSL FINAL

Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.