Issue No. 591
Opinion
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
20 - 26 June 2002 Issue No. 591 Opinion |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
A gap in the clouds
Rifts in Israeli opinion, both political and public, may offer a window of opportunity, writes Ibrahim Nafie
Just when US President Bush was due to deliver his government's policy statement on the Middle East another Palestinian suicide bomber struck. The timing of this operation, which claimed, at last count, 20 dead and many more wounded, was clearly a bid to outflank whatever Washington was expected to announce.
Although the bombing occurred in a southern suburb of occupied Jerusalem and targeted a symbol of the occupation -- a bus carrying West Bank settlers -- Palestinian officials quickly denounced it. In a statement condemning the attack, Palestinian Minister of Local Government Saeb Ereikat affirmed the PA's opposition to targeting civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli. "The operation serves Sharon's terrorist schemes," said Palestinian Minister of Information Yasser Abed Rabbo.
In spite of such unequivocal condemnation not only did Israeli officials blame President Arafat for the attack, they lashed out against all Palestinians. Ariel Sharon's office declared, through spokesman David Baker: "The PA is steeped in terrorism and this terrorism has insinuated itself into Palestinian society." Minister without Portfolio Dan Naveh called for the reoccupation of Palestinian cities and the expulsion of Arafat from Palestinian territories.
In contrast to the customary war cries from the Israeli right, though, some Israeli leaders have shown a greater sense of responsibility. They have affirmed that the pursuit of a military solution is futile and that the only way to end the current cycle of violence is to establish an independent Palestinian state. Israeli Minister of Defence and Labour Party leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer recently added his voice to these calls.
"Those who claim that it is possible to resolve the conflict militarily do not know what they are talking about," he said, following the latest suicide operation. He added that he hoped the US president would declare his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state that would live in peace next to Israel.
Such conflicting reactions to the recent suicide bombing betray a rift within the political forces that drive Israel, a rift that has Israeli public opinion constantly oscillating between support for a military solution and a return to the negotiating table. Compounding the confusion in Israeli public opinion is that proponents of a negotiated settlement are still intent upon bartering from a position of "Israel's overwhelming military superiority over the Palestinian people". The logic implied is that conditions to which the Palestinians refuse assent can always be imposed after another bout of military muscle flexing, murder and destruction. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak put this logic into action when his arm-twisting of the Palestinian delegation failed at Camp David II. Sharon has taken the logic of might a step further in his bid to render negotiations redundant.
Against this backdrop the importance of Ben- Eliezer's statement, if sincere, should not be underestimated, coming as it does from the minister of defence and the leader of the party that holds the largest bloc in the Knesset.
Unfortunately, the ultra right still dominates the decision-making process in Israel and seizes upon suicide bombings to push for renewed incursions into Palestinian territories. Clearly, this camp has failed to heed the lesson from the last incursions, which, in spite of their brutality, failed to dampen the Palestinian will and failed to stem the stream of armed resistance. If Israeli leaders are sincere in their desire to ensure lasting security for their people and their state, they must realise that this aspiration cannot be fulfilled in isolation, and must include security for the Palestinian people and the region as a whole. And such comprehensive security can only be achieved when the Palestinians obtain their legitimate rights in full.
It is now apparent that Israel's pretensions of self-defence and its allegations against the Palestinian people no longer fool even those known for their pro-Israeli sympathies. Indicative of this unclouding of the eyes is CNN founder Ted Turner's statement to the Guardian : "The Palestinians are fighting with human suicide bombers; that's all they have. The Israelis... they've got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. The Palestinians have nothing. So who are the terrorists? I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism."
Turner's observations, even though he is an ardent supporter of Israel, provoked predictably angry reactions in Israel. Israeli government spokesman Daniel Seamen described the CNN founder as "stupid". "My sole advice to Ted Turner," he said, "is that when people think you're stupid, the best thing to do is to keep your mouth shut, instead of opening it and confirming what everyone suspects."
The current rift in the Israeli power structure over how to respond to suicide bombings and the confusion this has sewn in Israeli public opinion underscore President Hosni Mubarak's long held belief that Washington must take decisive action to halt the cycle of violence and bring the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table. As the president has said on numerous occasions, when left to their own devices the Palestinians and Israelis will not sit down and talk. Recent developments have also confirmed Mubarak's conviction that there are opponents to the peace process on both sides determined to keep the conflict between the two peoples alive. The only way to halt the ongoing violence, therefore, is to meet Palestinian demands for their legitimate rights and to meet Israel's incessantly aired demand for security.
Although President Bush's policy statement was prepared before the recent suicide bombing in occupied Jerusalem, it will still have a major impact on the course of developments in the region. It is critical, at this time, for Washington to declare a clear and comprehensive plan, one that takes into consideration the demand that has become almost universally acknowledged as the ultimate key to the restoration of calm and the resumption of negotiations: the creation of an independent Palestinian state. For such a plan to be feasible it must also address practicalities, from the mechanisms needed to ensure the creation of a viable Palestinian state complete with democratic institutions of government to a time frame for the phased Israeli withdrawal to pre- June 1967 borders.
Above all, what we want from the US today is not some ambiguous declaration that Israeli governments will deftly circumvent and undermine. What is needed is a practical working agenda, along with the readiness to take concrete action to see it through to a comprehensive settlement which, in turn, will lead to true and lasting peace in the region. Will the US administration show the wisdom needed to bring this vision to fruition?
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
