Baker Institute director Edward Djerejian moderated the debate. Ambassador al-Sayed urged both Arabs and Israelis to work to find common ground to resurrect the peace talks on all fronts between Israel and the Palestinians, the Syrians, and the Lebanese. He claimed that 52 percent to 60 percent of Palestinian territory is under Israeli sovereignty and the continuation of this occupation is leading to despair. While the Oslo Accords have many flaws, both sides have agreed to them. However, the Likud government in Israel does not really believe in the Oslo Accords and seeks excuses to avoid carrying them out, he said.
Reciprocity means both sides have to carry out their commitments.
Both Israelis and Palestinians should be able to live in peace and security in their own respective nation-states. The peace process has gone wrong, he stated, because Israelis expected more security as an integral part of that process. Instead, there has been an expansion of Hamas infrastructure during negotiations and a rise in terrorist incidents, with 250 Israelis killed and hundreds wounded since 1996 alone. The peace process must deliver more security for Israelis, not less, and reciprocity is key, Gold said. Dismantlement of terrorist networks On the issue of Israeli redeployments from the West Bank, Gold said that the Oslo Accords do not stipulate the amount of land to be withdrawn from.