Israeli officials have stated to US envoy, Dennis Ross, that there “…can be no second summit with the Palestinians until they soften their position.” Blatantly, Israel is calling for the self-negation of Palestinian rights, and a clear abandonment of legality and justice.

With less than one month before the official deadline for a final Palestinian-Israeli peace accord (September 13th), hopes for a “breakthrough” seem unrealistic. The failure of last month’s Camp David summit to make any tangible progress has highlighted, yet again, the deep division between Palestinian and Israeli positions on critical final status issues, most notably Jerusalem and the fate of the Palestinian refugees.

What are the expectations of each side? How can they be met?

For Israel, the priorities seem to be overwhelmed by false and self-deceiving myths. What “eternal and undivided capital,” what security imperatives, and what legal or political logic provide basis for its positions.

Israeli politics must finally realize that there is no logical defense for Israel’s occupation of Palestine. The requirements of peace cannot be fulfilled by mere assumptions, myths, and a false exercise of unilaterally declared sovereignty.

As far as the Palestinians are concerned, Israel must abide by international law and legality. Repeatedly, the Palestinians have made it clear that a just and lasting peace can be based only on the existing legal provisions of United Nations Resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. In simple terms, this calls for Israel’s withdrawal to the June 1967 boundaries (including all of east Jerusalem), and the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their original homes. In practical terms, Israel must allow Palestinians to exercise full sovereignty over all of the West Bank (including east Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, dismantle all Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory, and acknowledge the right of return to the Palestinian refugees.

These are the Palestinian red lines. Israel’s call for the “softening” of Palestinian positions is a shortsighted attempt to promote its own interests at the expense of justice and peace.