Israeli settlement expansion in East Jerusalem – considered occupied territory under international law – has been a major obstacle to renewed peace talks, with leaders like Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arguing that peace talks are pointless while Israel is expanding its presence on land they claim for a Palestinian state. But according to the Al Jazeera documents, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in 2008 proposed allowing Israel to keep almost all of its East Jerusalem settlements in a final deal. The only exception was the Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa. Mr. Erekat described the concessions as “historic” but got a negative response from Tzipi Livni, then Israel’s foreign minister. “We do not like this suggestion because it does not meet our demands… but I really appreciate it,” Ms. Livni reportedly said.
Ammar Awad/Reuters/File
