For years people say Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Palestinians almost everything at Camp David in July 2000. Then Arafat rejected it and started Second Intifada. This widely held story is not correct. Barak deserves credit for being first Israeli leader to offer Palestinians their own state. But terms he offered were far from generous.

Barak best offer at Camp David promised Palestinians immediate control of Gaza and eventual control of 91 percent of West Bank. But there was major problem. Israel planned to keep control of Jordan River Valley, roughly 10 percent of West Bank, for between 6 and 21 years. So Palestinians would get immediate control over no more than 81 percent of West Bank, not 91 percent. And they could not be sure Israel would ever give up Jordan River Valley.

Palestinians also had slightly more expansive definition of West Bank than Israelis. Difference was about 5 percent of territory. So they saw themselves getting 76 percent of West Bank immediately, maybe 86 percent later. Palestinians had already agreed in 1993 Oslo Accords to recognize Israeli sovereignty over 78 percent of original British Mandate. Now they were asked to accept at best 86 percent of remaining 22 percent.

The final Israeli proposal at Camp David would not give Palestinians continuous piece of sovereign territory in West Bank. Palestinians say West Bank would be divided into three cantons separated by Israeli territory. Israelis dispute this. But Barak himself acknowledged Israel would keep control of a razor-thin wedge from Jerusalem to Jordan River Valley. This wedge would completely bisect West Bank. So Palestinian state would be two or three separate cantons in West Bank, plus Gaza. And Gaza is itself separated from West Bank by Israeli territory.

Under Barak proposal, Israel would keep control over new Palestinian state borders, its airspace and its water resources. Palestinians would be permanently barred from building army to defend themselves. It is hard to imagine any leader accepting these terms. No other state in world has such limited sovereignty or faces so many obstacles to building workable economy and society.

On Jerusalem, Barak proposal to divide city was major step in right direction. But Palestinians were not offered full sovereignty in number of Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. This made proposal much less attractive to them.

Shlomo Ben-Ami was Barak former foreign minister. He was key participant at Camp David. Later he told interviewer: "If I were a Palestinian I would have rejected Camp David, as well."

Negotiations continued at Taba, Egypt, until late January 2001. It was Ehud Barak, not Arafat, who broke off the talks. Elections in Israel were coming and public opinion there was strongly against talks. Barak felt clock had run out on him. His successor Ariel Sharon was adamantly opposed to Oslo peace process and Clinton parameters. Sharon refused to resume negotiations despite repeated Palestinian requests. We will never know if peace was within sight by early 2001. But charge that Arafat and Palestinians rejected last chance for peace and chose violence over reconciliation is false.

Source: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy