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How much would be enough for Israel?

Claudia Bradshaw Claudia Bradshaw | 12:10 UK time, Monday, 24 January 2011

Leaked confidential records of Middle East talks published by and reveal that Palestinian negotiators privately agreed to accept Israel's annexation of all but one of its settlements built illegally in occupied East Jerusalem. Senior negotiator for the Palestinians Saeb Erekat was quoted as saying "We are offering you the biggest Yerushalayim in Jewish history", using the Hebrew word for Jerusalem. The documents also show how the Palestinians offered concessions on the status of Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, which houses the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. But the Israelis didn't accept the deal. So, if you're an Israeli do you wish your government had said 'yes'. And if not, what offer would be acceptable?

Palestinian negotiators have - saying that parts of the documents have been fabricated and others also . But the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Paul Danahar thinks Saeb Erekat has been too quick to rubbish them: as he knows, off the record many of us have heard his team say things like this before.

Reacting to news of the leaks Doha-based journalist Blake Hounshell tweeted "I think today may be remembered as the day the two-state solution died #palestinepapers."

@Elizrael, based in Israel, thinks Israel will come out of this looking worse, tweeting: #PalestinePapers make the Palestinian leadership look bad, but think about how Israeli leaders come across - refusing peace time after time.

Here's a few of the comments people have emailed the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳:

Idan south of tel Aviv: If this offer is genuine, it is a fantastic offer and I would have agreed to sign it today. The question to be asked is: was this offer made as "End of claims". If this is truly the case, I have problems understanding Israel refusal. It feels like something is at amiss.

Gearoid in Belfast says: If true these leaks show the PA to be as weak as it is corrupt with a proven track record of enriching themselves at the expense of the Palestinian nation. These leaks explain why Hamas was voted into power in Gaza - and would also rule in the West Bank if Israel's poodle Abbas would call an election.

SeifAllah in Cairo says: I am actually more concerned about the leakage of the documents in such a critical time. I have not seen a single sign of authenticity and the internal conflict in Palestine is in no need for further divisions. The concessions shown above are a sign of treason for many Arabs, which will culminate the divisions between Fatah & Hamas further.

Mohamed in the Maldives: The biggest impact will be that Hamas will be greatly strengthened and more Palestinians will abandon any hope of a peaceful solution to this problem. In the end this could lead to more violence in which Palestinian civilians will suffer most.

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