NOREF - Jerusalem on the brink

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Daniel Seidemann

Daniel Seidemann is the founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an Israeli NGO that deals with crisis management and conflict resolution in the city. He is also a practicing attorney and specializes in legal and public issues in East Jerusalem. Since 1994 he has participated in many of the Track II tal...
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Jerusalem on the brink

Daniel Seidemann , 15 August 2010

The Israeli-Palestinian situation today is eerily reminiscent of the situation in 2000 when plummeting expectations, coupled with events in Jerusalem, triggered an eruption that devastated the political process. The international community, and in particular Washington, has placed all its hopes in relaunching direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in order to avert disaster.

However, Jerusalem today is at its most volatile, susceptible to the acts of various spoilers. An isolated Jerusalem provocation could create the tipping point that destroys the process. Jerusalem consequently requires resolute engagement, not finesse, and the establishment of clear rules of engagement is critical to sustaining the credibility of a vulnerable political process: no surprises in Jerusalem and zero tolerance for moves on the ground that impact on the outcome of final status talks or threaten to destabilise the city.