Palestinian and Israeli officials are preparing for another round of permanent status talks, to be resumed next Sunday. And once again, the Israeli side is blatantly dismissing the legal rights of the Palestinians under “international law.”

By proposing an 80% Israeli pullout of Palestinian territories, with the remaining 20% (including east Jerusalem) to be annexed by Israel, and by reasserting his rejection to the Palestinian refugees’ right of return, Barak is neither expressing the will nor the intention to take the peace process seriously. How long will Israel insist on its willful neglect of Palestinian rights?

The Israeli government must realize that, in order to guarantee a genuine and lasting peace in the region, it will have to take the legality of Palestinian rights seriously. The mere signing of “an agreement” will not achieve peace, if it does not seek to achieve “justice.” In practical terms, this calls for Israel to abide by the provisions of UN Resolutions; the return to the June 1967 borders and the recognition of the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.