Palestinians must take share of blame

I see that the World Bank is again blaming Israel for hampering the development of the Palestinian West Bank economy by holding on to 61% of mostly empty West Bank territory.

But your news report (Oct 9) fails to mention that this interim arrangement dates back to the Oslo Accords of the 1990s signed by Israel and the PLO.

The Palestinians could have been enjoying the economic benefits of practically all of West Bank land for the past 13 years had they only accepted the Clinton Parameters at the Camp David negotiations in 2000.

The Israeli prime minister of the time accepted the Clinton deal that would have given Palestinians 96% of the total West Bank area.

Palestinian arab leader Yasser Arafat chose to walk away and instead launched the Second Intifada, heralding another decade of strife with tragic consequences for Palestinians and Israelis.

Monique Walsh

Haddington Road

Dublin 4