Towards peace
AS it appears, the credit goes to the USA for its serious efforts to bring Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the negotiating table after a gap of over 16 months. Three hours of discussions directly between Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and Palestinian representative Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday night have revived the hope that the 1993 historic agreement on the Palestinian question will produce the desired results within this century — the deadline is May 4, 1999. The statement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on the Palestinian Authority “to engage with us continually, day and night, in negotiations, including at the highest level”, and his Defence Minister’s declaration, immediately after the two sides ended the impasse, that “We decided to focus in the coming days on the central issues, and to look for solutions to bridge the gap with the aim of advancing the agreement” are pregnant with deep meaning. Whether this indicates that the ruling politicians of Israel have made up their mind to accede to the US suggestion, already accepted by the Palestinian side, to get ready for a troop withdrawal from 13 per cent of the West Bank area will be clear in the coming few days. If this hurdle is crossed the talks will gain momentum. Earlier, Israel had been insisting on only a 9 per cent withdrawal at this stage which was causing much resentment among Palestinian leaders. The American administration was also giving the impression that it could take tough measures if Israel continued to refuse to budge from its stand on the pretext of security considerations.
The American demonstration of toughness vis-a-vis Israel this time was surprising. Perhaps the USA thought that in the event of the deadlock continuing unbroken, its interests in that volatile region would get damaged seriously. Israel might also have realised that if the peace process was allowed to die at this stage, it would lead to its isolation in West Asia again, which very few people in that country want now. People of Israel have had too much of restless days and nights because of suicide bombings and other forms of violence. One top Israeli leader has paid the price for the Oslo accord with his life. The peace process had run aground when the Netanyahu government announced its plans for fresh Jewish settlements in East (Arab) Jerusalem in March, 1997. The crisis got deepened by suicide bombings by Hamas activists. Anyway, the welcome change in the attitude of both sides makes one believe that the crucial negotiations will be carried on smoothly. Already efforts are being made to constitute “small groups” to concentrate on the difficulties in the way of Israeli withdrawal from certain areas of West Bank. This should lead to achieving the final target: establishment of peace in West Asia and a Palestinian homeland. America’s new role as a “facilitator”, and not as a “mediator”, as had been the case in the past, should only make the Israeli and Palestinian leaders behave more responsibly.

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Courtesy: The Tribune: July 23, 1998