Thank you for your balanced editorials regarding peace in the Middle East. The Palestinians have committed themselves to the peace process. They have been negotiating peace with Israel for more than seven years now. Several agreements and protocols have been signed by the Palestinians and the Israeli government and witnessed by the U.S. government. The Israeli government has yet to implement most of the provisions of those agreements.
Peace must be with justice and dignity to all for it to be a lasting peace. The Palestinians have already compromised and accepted the state of Israel on 78 percent of the land of Palestine.
The Palestinians have been living under the brutal Israeli occupation for 33 years now. It is time for the Israeli occupation to end. It is time for the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian land to be dismantled, and it is time for the Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to their land and homes. It is time for a viable Palestinian state to be established on all the occupied land in Palestine, which is only 22 percent of the land of Palestine.
The U.S. president is in a position to tell the Israelis it is time for them to withdraw their armed forces from the occupied territories. Only the U.S. government has the power and influence to achieve a just peace by being an honest broker. Until now the U.S. government has attempted no just peace.
