RubinReports
Barry Rubin
Israel has put forward a serious peace plan which deserves international support from anyone serious about solving the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflict.
The cabinet’s five-point proposal states:
“The need for explicit Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people.
“The demilitarization of a Palestinian state in such a manner that all of Israel's security needs will be met. International backing of these security arrangements in the form of explicit international guarantees.
“The problem of refugees must be resolved outside the borders of Israel.
“The agreement be an end to the conflict. This is to say that the Palestinians will not be able to raise additional claims following the signing of a peace agreement.”
If these conditions are met, Israel will recognize an independent Palestinian state. Note that the plan claims no territory on the West Bank or even claims east Jerusalem.
This program should be quite uncontroversial and represents what Israel needs to get to justify taking risks, making concessions, and believing the result will be a real, lasting peace.
Why, then, is this plan so unacceptable to the Palestinian leadership? Supposedly, Palestinians are so victimized by “occupation” and eager to have their own state of their own that this would be a small price to pay.
Regarding point one, if they are giving up all claim on Israel why should they care how it is defined? The Palestinian Authority’s constitution defines Palestine as a Muslim, Arab state and their intention is to expel all Jews. If there are going to be two states for two peoples why not accept that Israel is for the Jewish people? The answer: because the Palestinian leadership certainly does not intend to let Israel live permanently as a Jewish state.
Point two simply means that a Palestinian state would have military forces similar to what it has now. Since the PA already has the highest proportion of security forces to civilian population in the world, that should be sufficient. In addition, the Palestinian state wouldn’t invite in other armies—like Iran or Syria. But, after all, that’s in the interests of a peaceful, stable Palestine since such forces would threaten the government’s existence and provoke war with Israel.
Point three says that despite the “international community’s” poor record of keeping promises made to Israel in exchange for its past concessions, Israel is ready to take a chance to achieve peace.
As for point four, a real Palestinian nationalist movement would be demanding such a provision. Don’t Palestinian nationalists want Palestinians to live in Palestine to help create a strong, prosperous state? No. Instead, the PA demands that any Palestinian who ever lived or whose ancestors ever lived in what’s now Israel must be let in to live in that country. This is a formula for massive violence and Israel’s destruction which is why, of course, the PA insists on it.
Point five is a no-brainer, right? Any peace agreement must be final. But, of course, almost all PA leaders regard getting a state as only a first step toward wiping out Israel. So they want to weasel out of even a two-state peace agreement ending the conflict.
With no mention of keeping east Jerusalem or settlements, it should be clear that Israel’s government has formulated a strategic stance far from being hardline.
All those who say peace is easily obtainable should note: it is in theory but because of Palestinian positions it isn’t in practice. If more evidence is needed, consider the June 22 policy speech of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which proves my point.
First, Fayyad complains that Netanyahu presents an “Israeli narrative” of the conflict—isn’t that his job?--while Palestinians have their own “narrative.” But then Fayyad says he won’t talk about it!
Why won’t he present that narrative? Because doing so would reveal too much about Palestinian responsibility for making peace impossible.
Israel’s narrative is clear: Jews want and merit a state; the conflict is due to Arab refusal to accept that state’s existence. But if Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish state, there’s no bar to a two-state solution. This Israeli narrative doesn’t block a two- state solution.
In contrast, the Palestinian narrative is that Jews have no right to a state and all the land is Palestinian, Arab, and (for most) Muslim. This Palestinian narrative prevents a two-state solution since the conflict could only be settled not by Palestine’s creation but by Israel’s extinction.
That’s what Fayyad cannot admit. For this same reason he can’t say Palestinians will resettle all refugees in Palestine, won’t try to build the biggest possible army or bring in foreign troops, or will end the conflict permanently.
Second, Fayyad says something amazing: the reason the peace process failed is the misconception “that it is always possible to exert pressure on the weaker side in the conflict as if there is no limit to the concessions that it could offer.” He believes that so far this has been the PA.
That’s nonsense. Israel withdrew from most of the territory, let the PA bring in tens of thousands of Palestinians, establish its rule, build security forces, receive billions of dollars in international subsidies, and more. In exchange what did the PA do? Say to foreigners--but not in its textbooks, mosque sermons, media, or speeches to its own people--that it accepted Israel’s existence. And also to stop some selected terror attacks.
But now Fayyad and his colleagues advocate precisely the approach against Israel he says blocks peace. They view Israel as the weaker side, in relation to the West, and want those countries to force it into unlimited concessions.
By feeding the PA’s false belief that the West will press Israel into giving them a state without restrictions, Palestinian concessions, or even PA implementation of past promises, Western governments help sabotage any chance for peace. Instead, they should think seriously about supporting Israel’s moderate, workable peace plan.
From IMF:
1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks:
"Last Thursday, I returned from an important and successful round of talks with Italian and French leaders. The goal of the visit was to brief them on our principles for a peaceful solution as I expressed them in my Bar-Ilan University speech, and persuade them that this is the correct, just and practical path to achieve an agreement between us and the Palestinians.
Over three days, I met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, as well as with leading Italian and French opinion-makers and commentators, and I found that my interlocutors were attentive. Regarding the principles that we presented, I saw that there was a genuine international willingness to accept them as foundations for peace.
- The first principle is the need for explicit Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people.
- The second need is the demilitarization of a Palestinian state in such a manner that all of Israel's security needs will be met.
- The third item is that there must be international backing of these security arrangements in the form of explicit international guarantees.
- The fourth item is that the problem of refugees must be resolved outside the borders of Israel.
- The fifth item is the need that the agreement be an end to the conflict. This is to say that the Palestinians will not be able to raise additional claims following the signing of a peace agreement.
These principles are very solid and were raised very clearly by myself and by those in my delegation, which included Finance Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz and Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan, and I think, I know, that they expressed a very broad national consensus."
Prime Minister Netanyahu also said that detailed discussions were held on various issues regarding the situation in the Middle East:
"The issue of settlements came up only in a limited fashion.
Regarding the postponement of the meeting with Mitchell, which came at our initiative, I asked defense Minister Ehud Barak to contact him and request a postponement because there were several additional matters that we wished to clarify. Thus, I proposed that the meeting first be with Defense Minister Barak - and then I would meet with him afterwards - on Sunday or Monday in the US. He immediately agreed. The media said that the meeting was cancelled; there was no cancellation.
There is truth in the principles that I presented and it is very difficult for someone to be against these words of truth. I think that if we refine a process of compromise and agreement, a historic agreement, even for the Palestinians in regard to us, something which there has never been, insisting on these items is correct. It is not only tactically correct but is also substantively correct. It reflects their willingness or unwillingness to end the conflict. We are not prepared to the side that only gives; we also want to be the side that receives and for us this is genuinely accepting conditions of peace and peace in their deepest sense. We will not whitewash or blur this. I think that they understand this change. They appreciate it. I am speaking not only about the leaders but about the principal shapers of public opinion in both Italy and France. I did not encounter any substantive opposition, even tactical, to what we said. Somebody asked once if there was no detraction from Palestinian sovereignty here. I did not understand why Palestinian self-determination requires them to have rockets or Kassam missiles for firing at Israel.
Minister Isaac Herzog asked if the issue of Lebanon came up during the meetings in France. Indeed it did but I prefer not to go into details. However, I will emphasize and clarify one substantive point: While it is certainly good that Hizbullah did not win the elections, if Hizbullah will now be part of the Lebanese government, then the Lebanese government will be directly responsible for Hizbullah's actions and for the weapons it possesses. The Lebanese government will be directly responsible for Hizbullah operations against Israel."
2. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Foreign Ministry Director-General Yosef Gal briefed ministers on the main issues and processes being handled by the Foreign Ministry, as well as on the structure of the Ministry.
3. Pursuant to Article 5a of the 2008 National Security Council Act, the Cabinet approved the appointment of Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Avriel Bar-Yosef as National Security Council Deputy Chairman.
4. The Cabinet discussed the financing of afternoon daycare in order to promote the integration of mothers in the workforce.
E-mail to a friend
Print the article
Add to my bookmarks
No comments:
Post a Comment