The controversy continues after a leftist journalist on Yedioth Aharonoth published a document last Friday which Likud says shows an American peace talk outline that was never accepted by Israel, but which was presented by the journalist as being a list of concessions Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was willing to make.
In the latest such attack on Netanyahu, Channel 10 claims there is a document signed by Netanyahu’s past adviser and current Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, which apparently shows an agreement to create a Palestinian state along the 1949 Armistice lines.
According to the claim, by presenting the document, Dermer sought to prove to the envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Netanyahu’s seriousness regarding the peace talks. In doing so he signed off to an obligation stating that the size of the Palestinian state Netanyahu would consider forming would be the size of the 1949 Armistice line boundaries.
From the phrasing of the Channel 10 report it isn’t clear if the intention is to form a state along the “Green Lines,” or to an area with the same territory size which would leave open the possibility of land swaps. In either case, the document appears to show acceptance of the idea of a Palestinian state.
However, raising doubts about the validity of the report is the fact that the channel did not include a scan of the document, instead claiming that it had learned about the existence of the document.
Dermer himself is quoted in the report responding to it, saying it was not an agreement of concessions but rather part of efforts to start off negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“In complete contrast to what is claimed, at no stage was any concession agreed upon,” Dermer was quoted as saying. “This was an attempt to ignite negotiations based on the principles of the international community, while Israel retains the right to reject topics that it doesn’t accept.”
Amid the reports, Netanyahu stated on Sunday that he was renouncing his controversial 2009 Bar Ilan speech, in which he agreed to the concept of creating a demilitarized Palestinian state.
