Mr. Omar Barghouti:

Actually, I am not sure this is accurate. In the European Union's discussion of the two-state solution, there is no mention today of the basic rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, for example. They represent 12% of the entire Palestinian people and they live under conditions of Apartheid with dozens of laws discriminating against them. The current discussion about the two-state solution just speaks of fulfilling the Palestinian right to self-determination by establishing an independent state in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem. That is fine, but what does one do with the rights of refugees? Fifty per cent of the Palestinians live in exile. Even among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, a significant minority are refugees. What does one do with the Palestinian citizens of Israel? Without addressing the three rights, no solution will be ethical and no solution will, therefore, be sustainable. To be sustainable, a solution has to be comprehensive. It has to fulfil the basic rights of all Palestinians, not only the convenient part - the 38% who live in Gaza and the West Bank. Those are only 38% of the entire Palestinian people. If the EU was serious, it would have to address the basic rights of all Palestinians.