Ghassan Khatib, coeditor of the bitterlemons family of internet publications, vice-president for community outreach at Birzeit University and a former Palestinian Authority minister of planning:
Israelis need to understand that Palestinians are coming from a position that is based entirely on international law. In other words, the Palestinian position cannot and will not veer from the specific rights that United Nations Security Council resolutions as well as international legality guarantee Palestinians.
As long as international legality, including the US-brokered 2003 roadmap, considers Israeli control over the territory occupied in 1967 an illegal, belligerent and military occupation, Palestinians will continue to insist on a settlement that secures a complete end to that occupation.