Opinion, May 2003, Al-Jazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
Secrecy needed to achieve Mideast peace,
Daoud Kuttab
The Daily Star, 5/26/03
The scores of innocent Israelis killed
Saturday and Sunday in a series of Palestinian suicide attacks, and the
scores of innocent Palestinians killed before and since in various Israeli
operations, point to the need for a new approach to resolve the
Palestinian-Israel conflict. This new approach must be based on secrecy
and the need to work out a package agreement away from the pressures and
pitfalls of a publicly declared process.
Although as a journalist I wholeheartedly support freedom of expression,
in this case, I believe that lives can be saved by temporarily refraining
from the exercise of this right.
A clear pattern has been emerging for years. On the eve of any publicized
high level visit, or time-linked arrangements, hard-liners seem to get
active. The situation has become so predictable that Palestinians and
Israelis brace themselves every time high profile visits or crucial target
date for decision-making approaches.
For the most part these attacks and counter attacks are meant mostly to
send a message to their own leaders and public and to sabotage progress in
the peace process. Invariably these attacks produced a retaliation that
would be quickly claimed as proof that the other side doesn’t want
peace.
Radical groups should not be allowed to succeed. Not a single Israeli or
Palestinian need to perish in this inhuman fashion.
The recently publicized US-led “road map” to peace in the Middle East
is another such open invitation for any side opposed to the compromises
that peace entails. With every publicly declared target date, hard-line
settlers and hawkish army officers as well as militant Palestinian groups
see an open invitation to sabotage the peace process.
For over thirty years, the Palestinian population has suffered Israel
humiliation and brutality. In Israeli prisons, radicals and moderates
Palestinians have reached common bondage. Out of prison ground they are
unable and unwilling to fight each other.
Similarly, Israeli societies suffering from the random Palestinian attacks
have difficulties separating doves and hawks. Pro-settlement hard-liners
opposed to any compromise and wishing to kick out all Palestinians are
part of the establishment and some even participate in the Israeli
governing coalition.
To both groups, the idea of controlling their own hard-liners seems next
to impossible. Leaders on both sides insist that such internal crackdown
will lead to a civil war.
This leaves negotiators one of two choices. Either to keep moving ahead in
the talks no matter what happens on the ground, or work behind the scenes
to produce an agreed upon peace deal that will be presented to the public
to vote for as a package deal.
The first option calls for a parallel approach to work for peace and fight
violence. The late Yitzhak Rabin publicly adopted this approach. He
repeatedly said that peace talks must continue as if there was no violence
and that violence must be tackled as if there were no peace talks.
Israel’s present government seems unable or unwilling to adopt such a
policy. By canceling his long-awaited trip to Washington following
Sunday’s attacks, Ariel Sharon showed he can’t adopt the Rabin
approach as a way to stop the cycle of violence.
The Palestinian Authority has not fared any better even with help from the
head of the Egyptian intelligence service. Attempts to convince the
militants to unilaterally stop their attacks have failed, partly because
Israel has refused to promise to stop its policy of assassinating what it
calls leaders of “terrorists.”
Israeli settlers and settlements are not popular in Israel. Poll after
poll show that the majority of Israelis would accept a peace process
without settlements rather than settlements without peace. But despite
these poll, settlers seem to have an exaggerated power among Israeli
decision makers. The Palestinian public similarly say that they prefer a
solution without resorting to attacks against Israeli civilians but such
ideas fail to produce results.
This leaves Palestinian and Israeli leaders as well as the international
community with one simple mechanism to break up this ugly cycle of
violence. By now all the parties know exactly what is needed to bring
about a fair and viable agreement to the Middle East conflict. Key
elements to such an agreement was reached in the Egyptian resort of Taba
in January 2001 and have been articulated by US president George Bush.
Some might say that this approach was attempted by Clinton, Barak and
Arafat in Camp David. But although the talks in Camp David were held in
secret, they were rushed, ill prepared for and the public was well aware
of them and their failure left a major disappointment we are suffering
from till now.
What we need now is a handful of honest and authentic leaders meeting in
secret to work out all the details. After getting the blessing of the US
and other international parties such package agreement would be presented
to the Palestinian and Israeli public. The majority of both sides will be
asked to say yes or no without the chance to make any amendments. I am
confident that such a concerted effort will receive positive approval in a
referendum of Palestinians and Israelis. It would surely end unnecessary
suffering, injury and death and usher in genuine peace.
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist and director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star. His e-mail is dkuttab@yahoo.com
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |