Why Israel Should Welcome Palestine

More than 140 nations are ready to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meeting in September. UN approval could put Israel and the US on the defensive. With the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at a stalemate, the US could break that deadlock by pursuing agreement on borders, suggests David Avital of the Israeli Policy Forum in an opinion essay for Politico. Establishing the borders, as established during previous negotiations, would go far in contributing to peace, by ending the lingering uncertainty over construction of settlements and security. “The approach could also establish a context for greater Israeli-Palestinian economic cooperation, consistent with Netanyahu’s vision of an ‘economic peace first,’” Avital explains. “[A] border agreement could provide momentum for achieving arrangements on all issues.” Palestine is not going away. All parties would be better off with agreement sooner than later. – YaleGlobal