Palestine Papers leak reveals secrets of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A massive new leak of secret documents, called the Palestine Papers, has revealed deeply controversial concessions made by the Palestinians as well as details into the disintegration of the 20-year Middle East peace process. The documents, called the biggest leak of confidential documents on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in history, were released to Al Jazeera and shared exclusively with the Guardian.

One of the most significant leaks reveals that Palestinian negotiators proposed at a meeting in 2008 that Israel could keep large parts of occupied East Jerusalem in exchange for peace. 

This was a historic concession that will likely startle Palestinians. And yet, Israel offered nothing in return for the land and turned the offer down on the basis that it did not go far enough, according to the documents.

Palestinian negotiators also proposed that the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount holy sites in Jerusalem could be temporarily taken over by an international committee.

This leak, and others like it, threaten to undermine the authority of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by revealing that his public positions contradict what his officials are secretly negotiating, analysts said.

In one document, the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, using the Hebrew word for Jerusalem, told an Israeli official: "It is no secret that …we are offering you the biggest Yerushalayim in history."

Erekat dismissed the documents on Al Jazeera and called them a "bunch of lies."

Israel officials gave no immediate response.

The United States is reviewing the documents and has not vouched for their veracity, according to U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, as reported in the Jerusalem Post.

Al Jazeera began the release of more than 1,600 files, diplomatic correspondence, memos, emails, maps and other secret papers on Sunday and will continue until Wednesday. Al Jazeera has not revealed the source of the documents.

According to Al Jazeera, the documents also address:

– Compromises the Palestinian Authority was willing to take regarding refugees and the right of return, a key stumbling block in the peace process.

– Details of the security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

– Private exchanges between Palestinian and American negotiators during the 2009 Goldstone Report controversy.

See Al Jazeera's FAQ on the documents, and the Guardian's roundup of reactions.

"The overall impression that emerges from the documents, which stretch from 1999 to 2010, is of the weakness and growing desperation of PA leaders as failure to reach agreement or even halt all settlement temporarily undermines their credibility in relation to their Hamas rivals; the papers also reveal the unyielding confidence of Israeli negotiators and the often dismissive attitude of U.S. politicians towards Palestinian representatives," the Guardian reported.

The leak comes weeks after WikiLeaks began publishing secret American diplomatic cables.

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