Will there be peace in ME?

AFTER the fall of the Ottoman Empire many regions became no man’s land, especially Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine.The British Empire had given the Balfour Declaration to the Jews, stating “His Majesty’s government is in favor of the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, and will use its power to speed up the realization of this objective, provided nothing shall be done that might violate the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
Apparently, the declaration was aimed at protecting the “civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities,” yet nothing was mentioned about their political rights. The right for self-determination for Palestinians was confirmed only in the United Nations Charter and a decision taken by the General Assembly on Nov 29, 1947 to divide the land into two for the opposing parties. However, the Security Council has not endorsed this decision.
Therefore, the only legal and diplomatic solution for peace in the Middle East, is to put one party, which shares a piece of land with another, on the table and try to open doors of negotiation. This requires tremendous efforts for both parties to accept previous resolutions and come up with a peaceful solution. Any option should depend on tolerance and giving, otherwise, there is no way out today or tomorrow.

Email:lalaw@qualitynet.net

By Labeed Abdal
Attorney at Law

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/faqdetails.asp?faid=1943&faqid=14