To negotiate you must be able to sell your goods at the best possible price. What Beilin does is to deminish the price of our goods (Jersalem for example). Obviously if you trade something which is worthless, you dont get anything in valuable return. Want proof? Check the Oslo peace process. If we can 'sell' the Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem -which we dont want anyway- as a huge consession, then claiming them as part of the eternal capital of Israel was a smart move. But I guess Yossi Beilin is not interested in securing the best possible deal for Israel. He's interested in securing the best possible deal for himself. He wants to feel Nobel.

whatever is granted to the PA will just be handed over to hamas anyhow (albeit after a token fight)

Yossi Beilin posits that Israeli Jews want nothing of Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, so thus there is a de facto separation of Jerusalem and that Israel should get rid of these Arabs by giving these neighborhoods to a future Palestinian State. First of all, this is the same Yossi Beilin who also gets upset when Jews do try to move into Arab neighborhoods or areas. The main problem is that the government will not allocate the resources to invest in the infrastructure of these neighborhoods. There are many Jews willing to move into Arab neighborhoods: just check Atarat Kohanim, where Jews are moving in Silwan. However more Jews would move in if the areas were revitalized: Why move in an area with broken streets, no street lamps and stinking of unpicked garbage? If the Israeli government would allocate the Shekels to these areas (they are part of Israel after all as per annexation) more Israelis would move in and gentrify the Arab neighborhoods. Besides the claims of wanting to give these neighborhoods to a so-called Palestinian State, Yossi Beilin fails to tell the readers what he would do with Judaism's holiest sites in the city. I urge him to visit Joseph Tomb's and see the (lack) of respect for Jewish holy sites on the part of the Arabs.

I hope this fellow shops in supermarkets, not the souk...he would be eaten alive the way he negotiates

If Jerusalem neighborhoods are turned over to the PA, there will be kassam rockets falling on the Knesset and the Kotel. Idiots like Beilin simply ignore this point.

While Beilin tries to explain territorial compromise, what we have not had, is any explanation as to how security will be provided. That is what the peace treaty is supposed to be about for Jews. There are very few Jews who have any confidence that Palestinians will not continue with their violence no matter what territory they get.

because we get nothing tangible in return. Empty promises & daydreams of peace are worth nothing. Land for peace is a completely discredited idea. We have legitimate security concerns & only our continued military presence garantees our security. Should we cede neighborhoods in Jerusalem, we will be creating a new terrorist base from which to fire Kassams into downtown Jerusalem, into Ben Gurion Airport, an area for sniper-fire, a staging area for suicide bombers. No one sane would believe our gov't. when they say terrorism will provoke a harsh response. We will make Jerusalem another Sderot. By all means, cancel all the Israeli ID's for Palestinians & eliminate all social services. They can have limited responsibility, a sort of autonomy, for outlying Arab areas of Jerusalem but not sovereignty. And this does not extend to the Old City nor to the Temple Mount. Since I don't believe that the creation of an independant Palestine will end the conflict but merely set the stage for a new phase of the conflict, discussions of dividing Jerusalem are in my mind a moot point anyway.

First of all let me say that I would never vote for this man and I would never want this man to negotiate on Israels' behalf. With that said there is some logic in what he says. A few years back I took some Canadian friends that were visiting Israel on a tour of Jerusalem. At the time there was no fence so by mistake we ended up in a Arab area of "East Jerusalem". The Arabs started pelting our car with watermelon slices and screaming unpleasent curses at us. Then they started pelting my car with stones. There was no Israeli soldiers in sight and only a quick u turn saved the day. It was a very unpleasent experience. So maybe in final negotiations led by a Prime Minister Netanyahu could some of these more densely Arab areas be traded for areas with Jewish population? As for the Golan, we should keep it forever. There are just as many Jews here as Arabs(mostly friendly Druze).and the Golans' strategic value is essential.

why don't you offer them Tel-Aviv first? They want it badly, you know. It's their dream to meet in a Tel-Aviv cafe once they have driven us into the sea. Just give them Tal-Abib first.

Same argument could be made for most Arab areas in the country. It is not safe to visit these places and most non-Arabs never enter. The next logical jump Beilen makes is that we can safely cede these areas (along with adjoining areas). This is like saying that Rosh HaAyin is expendable because who ever really visits Kfar Kassem?

beilin is right! who cares what flag is flying where. the city is divided - let it live in peace. it will be a blessing for all the citizens.

When you reach the point where you have to look back on your life, just know that you have done nothing but hurt the state of Israel. I say this as a matter of fact, not opinion. Your blatant blindness to reality shows you have other motives (i.e. monetary) for preaching the things you do. You might as well go join the PA because you're pretty much doing the work for them.

Yossi and his ilk scream bloody murder whenever any Jew tries to move into any neighborhood, especially arab, this for many years. He should move to Jordan with all his arabs friends that he embraces and prefers over all Jews.

Look at the Old City, East vs West Jerusalem

In fact, they have even closed the road from Adam to Atarot to Jewish traffic many times. This road had been used regularly by thousands of Jews. So what do you want? Open the roads to Jews or close them for Arabs. Our Jerusalem will not be divided.

... the one that wanted him to divide the baby in half. His aversion to Israel and to Jews is only surpassed by his total refusal to learn from the past. His arguments for "disengaging" from East Jerusalem are the same that were used to make Gaza a Judenrein terror state that has been launching missiles daily for over a year now into Israel. Maybe he would enjoy Kassams falling daily into West Jerusalem?

or anything else belonging to Jews. What are such self-hating Jews doing in Israel's Knesset?

You suggest negotiating with Israel inveterate enemies, led by Mr. Netanyahu. We Jews have so much to give you know. You suggest giving Arabs sorvereignty over the more densly populated Arab areas of Jerusalem as trade for areas with Jewish population.. I've got a better alternative. Since you do not have nearly enough unfriendly, screaming, car pelting Arabs in the Golan, why not transfer these screaming Jerusalem Arabs to the Golan where there is more room, leaving Jerusalem a much friendlier and safer place? Then Mr. Netanyahu can negotiate sovereignty for these sceaming, car pelting Ababs in the Golan. I am constantly amazed how Jews in different parts of Eretz Israel -- who are not immediately affected or impacted -- find it so easy to negotiate away other Jews' rights and safety.

Gilo, is a Jewish neighborhood on the eastern side of the city, in the event Beilin doesn't remember. Are you going to give that away too?

taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure of status of the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, or any part thereof, have no legal validity and that Israel's policy and practices of setting parts of its population and new Immigrants in those territories constitute a flagrant violation of the fourth Geneva convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war and also constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

convenient that Yossi neglects to mention his thoughts for the old city.....as if the situation is "as simple" as he says. The Palestinians have recently said that it is "inconceivable" that they could ever agree to anything less than Palestinian control over the Temple Mount. Maybe Yossi is willing to give the Palestinians what they want, but I don't think anyone else is, nor does he mention this in his article. So I guess it's not that simple after-all. Also, the attached article regarding the survey says that if a referendum were held ~80% of Israelis would vote against dividing Jerusalem - shouldn't that be the headline???

It may surprise you to find out that our Heavenly Father gave this land to Israel. Who has the final authority? Is it the UN or is it G-D? The world is about to find out! Stay tuned.

Since when was the UN General Assembly given the authority to interpret the Geneva Convention? The Convention doesn't apply to territory that not belong to a sovereign state,. All the land in question was once part of the Palestine Mandate to which Israel has the strongest claim by virtue f the Mandate.

The fact on the ground clearly shows that. No jew have even a need to steps in the Palestinain nieghborhood, in fact Jews wish these neighborhood just disapear. However rigth winger refuse to see all that.

It's time right wingers open their eyes and see reality.

Jerusalem needs to be united under Muslim rule as the capital of united Palestine. There is no room for any zionists in Muslim Palestine.

So if the UN says we should abandon our holiest sites and leave them to the care of the Arabs (just as in 1948 when the UN told Jordan to protect Jewish sites, the Arabs responded by using Jewish tombstones as latrines), should we oblige? The UN once voted Zionism as Racism, should we agree? The UN also voted that Israel should withdraw (UNSC 242) to "secure borders" which mean not all territories. UN resolution is very ambiguous and since 1950 are governed more by realpolitk than common sense.