Some Mideast observers say, a series of recent events have opened a path toward a process of achieving a lasting peace in the region between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
They include the death in November of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the election two months later of Mahmoud Abbas as his successor, and a subsequent truce signed last month in Egypt between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told a recent hearing of the House Committee on International Relations that these events, coupled with the re-election of President Bush in November, bring about the best prospect in decades for finalizing a peace accord in the Middle East. Kissinger said, the President brings continuity of policy to the process and forced all other parties to face the political realities.
The president, in his State of the Union address, pledged $350 million “to support Palestinian political, economic and security reforms.”
“The beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are now showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and failure. The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace, is within reach–and America will help them achieve that goal,” the President said.
On her first trip abroad, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice met with both Abbas and Sharon. Rice announced the appointment of Lt. Gen. William Ward, the deputy commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, to help the Palestinian Authority reform their security forces, and to promote security cooperation with Israel.
There, Rice urged the Palestinians to root out terrorist groups, and for Israel to make “hard decisions.” Rice made indirect reference to calls for Israel to yield a portion, if not all, of the West Bank and part of Jerusalem, to a Palestinian state.
The U.S.- backed Roadmap for Mideast Peace, which the President co-sponsored two years ago, calls for a “permanent status agreement” being reached this year between the two sides.
At his first Cabinet meeting of the year, the President commented on his plan to host separate meetings with both Abbas and Sharon.
“Prime Minister Abbas comes to the table with a mandate from a lot of Palestinians. He has been through an election; he was endorsed by the Palestinian people. I have been impressed by Prime Minister Abbas’commitment to fighting off terror. I’ve been impressed by his public statements. I’ve also been impressed by the fact that Israel helped the Palestinians have an election, went out of their way to make sure that people were allowed to go to the polls. And the meetings just indicate that there’s more work to be done.”
The President, in his first term, refused to meet with Arafat, calling him an obstacle to peace.
At the Sharm El-Sheik summit, Abbas and Sharon pledged to end more than four year’s hostilities sparked by the Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories that Israel gained during the 1967 Mideast War.
Shortly thereafter, Palestinian militants launched mortar attacks on Jewish settlements, a move that prompted Abbas to fire three of his top security chiefs and several other officers. Abbas also met with leaders of the Islamic militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Both terrorist groups initially said that they would not attack Israeli targets, but they refrained from officially joining the cease-fire.
Israel initiated a number of goodwill gestures, including the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and ending the practice of razing the homes of Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen. Israel also began transferring security control of several West Bank towns to Palestinian forces, and handed over the bodies of several Palestinian gunmen killed last year in skirmishes.
A number of Jewish-American organizations expressed optimism over the recent turn of events in the region.
The Anti-Defamation League called the Palestinian election “a positive first step” toward bringing democratic reform to Palestinian society, ending terrorism and facilitating peace in the region. In a statement, the ADL also said it hoped that “Abbas will use his new position and legitimacy to move in a constructive direction.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said, Israel wants peace, but it must have a sincere and credible partner.
“Abbas will need to distance himself from his own incendiary and anti Israel statements during the election campaign, and will have to implement meaningful political and security reforms, such as: consolidating the Palestinian security forces, and stopping the flow of money, equipment and recruits to terrorist groups including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades,” it said.
American Jewish Congress President, Paul Miller, stated, “It is now time for the Israelis and Palestinians, without undue pressure being applied on the Israeli government, to proceed. We are also pleased by the decision of Egypt and Jordan to return their ambassadors to Israel,” he said.
However, some U.S. religious leaders expressed a more cautionary tone.
A National Council of Churches delegation of Protestant and Orthodox leaders recently visited the region. The delegation, which represented 36 denominations and 45 million Christians, issued a joint statement:
“We are grateful to God for the witness to Christ made by the living churches of the Middle East from which we descend. We affirm the whole earth is God’s Holy Land, though, of course, the land of Israel and Palestine holds particular importance for us, for it is the land of the Prophets and Our Savior. We also affirm that God’s children are called to seek justice, to break down the walls that separate them, and to live side-by-side in peace.
Especially for the sake of the children, we have hope that peace remains possible, and a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine can be reached. Our conclusion is that a sliver of hope for peace does exist, but we feel strongly that the moment must be seized now or the future will remain dim.
We believe that American Christians must see themselves as bridge-builders for peace, and must not abandon or forget all God’s children of the Middle East. We heard many pleas from our Christian sisters and brothers to raise our voices and work for a just, enduring and comprehensive peace. The rapid disappearance of the Christian presence in the Holy Land, and, indeed, the entire region, due to emigration, is alarming and can only be reversed if conditions are changed for all the people of the Middle East. The Christian community in the Middle East is a living church, not simply the custodian of sacred places for others to visit. We pledged to them, we will redouble our efforts for an end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,”the NCC delegation said.
Also, a group of 35 Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, called the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, held a recent news conference in Washington, D.C.
They expressed unity “in support of a viable, independent, democratic Palestinian state along side the state of Israel, with enduring peace and security for both peoples.” They also appealed for President Bush’s leadership in the peace process, and planned to work for “bi-partisan Congressional support for a reinvigorated and concerted U.S.-led effort for rapid progress on the Road Map” for Mideast Peace.
To that end, the NILIP offered four specific suggestions for the U.S. role:
Appoint a Special Presidential Envoy with a full-time commitment to the region, in coordination with the European Union, Russian Federation and United Nations Secretary-General, to immediately press ahead for full implementation of the Road Map to Peace, and for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states;
Negotiate a timetable for specific, simultaneous steps to be taken by the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government by both sides;
Take the lead, in light of Israeli plans to withdraw fully from the Gaza Strip, to mobilize increased international economic aid (with effective controls by a credible institution such as the World Bank) to build-up the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to provide security, prevent violent attacks on Israelis, deliver humanitarian aid, vital services, and development assistance, including desperately needed jobs, for the Palestinian people;
Support benchmark principles for possible mutually-acceptable peace agreements, drawn from earlier official negotiations, and from Israeli Palestinian civil society initiatives such as the People’s Voice and the Geneva Accords.
In the meantime, Sharon is pressing ahead with his disengagement plan for the Occupied Territories. It calls for the complete withdrawal of all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank. Sharon has pledged to consult with the new Palestinian leadership on the phase-in pullout, which is slated to begin in July.
The Israeli Knesset has approved a nearly $1 billion dollar compensation package to pay affected settlers for their homes, land, businesses and resettlement. While giving up settlements in Gaza, aides say Sharon is aiming at strengthening Israel’s hold on the 100-plus settlements in the West Bank. The West Bank settlements are among several unresolved issues that remain for final status discussions. Other issues include the return of Palestinian refugees to the West Bank, the ongoing erection of an Israeli security barrier in the West Bank and the future of Jerusalem.
Dr. Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network and Christian Coalition, recently cautioned President Bush not to cave in to international pressure to make half of Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state. Robertson said, if the President were to touch Jerusalem, “he’d lose all Evangelical support.”
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