Sir, - The Israeli Deputy Ambassador (July 14th) overstates the effect of a UN vote on the recognition of a Palestinian state. This is largely a symbolic gesture as noted by the Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad (“Palestinians seek Irish support for UN vote”, Mary FitzGerald, World News, July 12th).
While it is true that the borders were an issue for final status settlement under the Oslo accords it is, more importantly, a key reason for their failure. The continuation of settlements and the failure to transfer sovereignty to the Palestinian Authority prejudiced the final status settlement issues.
Must history repeat the same mistakes? The best solution to the current impasse is the recognition of a provisional border along 1967 lines and for bridging proposals between the parties to be made by the US or the international community. The UN vote is not inconsistent with such an approach. – Yours, etc,