<p>Despite longstanding protests against the construction of Jewish developments in contested areas, Palestinian negotiators agreed to cede large tracts of Jerusalem to Israel during peace negotiations in recent years, according to a set of documents Al Jazeera says it has obtained.<br /><br />The materials suggest that the chief Palestinian negotiator at the time, Ahmed Qurei, “proposed that Israel annexes all settlements in Jerusalem,” except for the Jewish district known as Har Homa.<br /><br />“This is the first time in history that we make such a proposition,” Qurei was quoted as saying during a June 2008 meeting with his Israeli counterparts and Condoleezza Rice, the then American secretary of state.<br /><br />Al Jazeera did not say how it had gotten hold of the documents, and State Department officials on Sunday would not comment on them, cautioning that they could not vouch for the documents’ authenticity.<br /><br />But the new details of how Jerusalem might have been divided during negotiations under Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert are in keeping with previous understandings of what drove the peace talks before they broke down so completely in recent months.<br /><br />The status of Jerusalem is an emotional and symbolic issue for both sides. Still, it had long been understood that residential areas built in East Jerusalem by Israel since its 1967 conquest would stay in Israeli hands, and that historically Palestinian areas would become part of a new Palestinian state. President Bill Clinton laid out this notion in December 2000 in what became known as the Clinton Parameters. He said the general principle was that Arab areas would be Palestinian, and Jewish ones Israeli.<br /><br />Palestinian and Israeli officials have made clear that in fall 2008 they came very close to agreement on territory for a two-state deal, but they were divided over the West Bank.<br /><br />The Israelis wanted to hold onto about 6 per cent of the West Bank; the Palestinians were willing to cede about 2 per cent of it for land swaps. But then Olmert, facing indictment, left office and the Israel invasion of Gaza occurred, ending the negotiations. <br /><br />New elections in 2009 brought Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud and his right-leaning coalition to power. The Palestinians have said ever since that peace talks should start where they had left off with Olmert. Netanyahu has rejected that, saying he wanted a fresh start.<br /><br />Report rejected<br /><br />Palestinian authorities immediately rejected the Al Jazeera report as “a bunch of lies,” while their rivals in Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, seized on the documents as evidence that the Palestinian Authority was “attempting to liquidate the Palestinian cause,” Reuters reported.<br /><br />The new details come as the US is facing unusual pressure from its Arab and European allies, and even from some former top American officials, not to veto a draft Security Council resolution reaffirming the longstanding international view that Israeli settlements on occupied territory are illegal.<br /><br />Habitually, Security Council members avoid proposing any resolution that might be seen as critical of Israel because the US vetoes them, almost automatically. But the new resolution reflects widespread frustration that even though President Obama said in a UN speech last September that Israel should freeze settlement expansion and that a Palestinian state was achievable within a year, no tangible progress has been made.</p>
<p>Despite longstanding protests against the construction of Jewish developments in contested areas, Palestinian negotiators agreed to cede large tracts of Jerusalem to Israel during peace negotiations in recent years, according to a set of documents Al Jazeera says it has obtained.<br /><br />The materials suggest that the chief Palestinian negotiator at the time, Ahmed Qurei, “proposed that Israel annexes all settlements in Jerusalem,” except for the Jewish district known as Har Homa.<br /><br />“This is the first time in history that we make such a proposition,” Qurei was quoted as saying during a June 2008 meeting with his Israeli counterparts and Condoleezza Rice, the then American secretary of state.<br /><br />Al Jazeera did not say how it had gotten hold of the documents, and State Department officials on Sunday would not comment on them, cautioning that they could not vouch for the documents’ authenticity.<br /><br />But the new details of how Jerusalem might have been divided during negotiations under Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert are in keeping with previous understandings of what drove the peace talks before they broke down so completely in recent months.<br /><br />The status of Jerusalem is an emotional and symbolic issue for both sides. Still, it had long been understood that residential areas built in East Jerusalem by Israel since its 1967 conquest would stay in Israeli hands, and that historically Palestinian areas would become part of a new Palestinian state. President Bill Clinton laid out this notion in December 2000 in what became known as the Clinton Parameters. He said the general principle was that Arab areas would be Palestinian, and Jewish ones Israeli.<br /><br />Palestinian and Israeli officials have made clear that in fall 2008 they came very close to agreement on territory for a two-state deal, but they were divided over the West Bank.<br /><br />The Israelis wanted to hold onto about 6 per cent of the West Bank; the Palestinians were willing to cede about 2 per cent of it for land swaps. But then Olmert, facing indictment, left office and the Israel invasion of Gaza occurred, ending the negotiations. <br /><br />New elections in 2009 brought Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud and his right-leaning coalition to power. The Palestinians have said ever since that peace talks should start where they had left off with Olmert. Netanyahu has rejected that, saying he wanted a fresh start.<br /><br />Report rejected<br /><br />Palestinian authorities immediately rejected the Al Jazeera report as “a bunch of lies,” while their rivals in Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, seized on the documents as evidence that the Palestinian Authority was “attempting to liquidate the Palestinian cause,” Reuters reported.<br /><br />The new details come as the US is facing unusual pressure from its Arab and European allies, and even from some former top American officials, not to veto a draft Security Council resolution reaffirming the longstanding international view that Israeli settlements on occupied territory are illegal.<br /><br />Habitually, Security Council members avoid proposing any resolution that might be seen as critical of Israel because the US vetoes them, almost automatically. But the new resolution reflects widespread frustration that even though President Obama said in a UN speech last September that Israel should freeze settlement expansion and that a Palestinian state was achievable within a year, no tangible progress has been made.</p>
