they would only accept minor border changes in the context of territorial swaps. The traditional Israeli position is that the territories acquired by it in the course of the 1948 war were beyond dispute, and the required compromise concerns only the remaining 22 percent.
72. Thus, as with most terms and concepts, the word "concession" has different meanings for the two sides. The Palestinians believe that they already "conceded" 78 percent of their land when they agreed in Oslo to accept a mere 22 percent of it. The Israelis believe that they are "conceding" when they agree to "give" the Palestinians parts of that 22 percent.
As a result of Camp David, the dividing line between the Zionist "right" and "left" almost disappeared. The slogan "We have no partner" was adopted by all.
73. Things came to a head at the Camp David Summit in the summer of 2000, which was imposed on Arafat against his will and
without any time for preparations. Barak's demands, presented at the summit as Clinton's, were that the Palestinians agree to end the conflict by relinquishing the right of return and any return of refugees to Israel, accept complicated arrangements for East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount without obtaining sovereignty over them, agree to the annexation by Israel of large settlement blocs on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, accept an Israeli military presence in other large areas (such as the Jordan valley), and agree to Israeli control over the borders between the
Palestinian state and the rest of the world. There was no
possibility that any Palestinian leader could sign such an
agreement and convince his people to accept it, and thus the summit ended without results. Soon after, the careers of Clinton and Barak also came to an end, while Arafat was received by the Palestinians as a hero who had withstood the pressure of Clinton and Barak and not surrendered.
74. The breakdown of the summit, the elimination of any hope for an agreement between the two sides and the unconditional pro-
Israeli stance of the United States inevitably led to another round of violent confrontations, which became known as "the al-Aqsa Intifada." For the Palestinians, it is a justified national uprising