Posted on 06/05/2002 6:05:09 PM PDT by vannrox
June 5, 2002 BY MICHAEL OREN
The conclusion of Israel's large-scale retaliation in the West Bank, the Bush administration's newfound commitment to Middle East mediation, and the call for major reforms in the Palestinian Authority--all present a unique opportunity for progress toward a genuine Arab-Israeli peace. Obtaining that goal, however, will require a new approach to Middle East diplomacy, and a scrupulous effort to avoid the errors of the past.
Since Israel's victory in the Six Day War, which broke out 35 years ago today, efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East have been misguided by a number of myths--Israeli, Arab, and American.
Israelis believed that if they defeated the Arabs militarily and conquered their land, the Arabs would, in return for regaining their territories, accept the Jewish state. This belief has now been shown to be groundless. Israel restored territory to both Egypt and Jordan, but instead of receiving real peace, Israelis are vilified daily in the countries' state-controlled press and boycotted by intellectuals and journalists. In 2001, Israel offered the Palestinians 97 percent of the West Bank, half of Jerusalem and all of Gaza--that is virtually all of Arafat's territorial demands. Israel received in turn 18 months of unremittent terror.
Arab regimes assumed that by maintaining a state of belligerency with Israel they could deflect their people's desire for democracy. Not true. In fact, the rising opposition to Israel in the Arab "street" has only fanned its longing for freedom. The demonstrations against Israel recently staged in several Arab capitals quickly escalated into anti-government riots. Arab rulers have begun to fear--rightly--that the anti-Israel sentiment they themselves fomented could soon explode in rebellion.
American policy makers deluded themselves into thinking that once treaties were signed by Israeli and Arab leaders, the notion of peace would trickle down to the general public. But instead of peace, Arab populations were fed on the hatred of Israel and incitement to murder its citizens. Many Israelis, on the other hand, were led to believe that they could both build settlements and peaceful relations with their neighbors simultaneously. American-mediated agreements were revealed as flimsy deeds, easily violated, and good only as long as their signatories remained in power.
We now know that the century-old Middle East conflict cannot be resolved by a piece of paper. There is no quick fix, no "peace now." The solution, rather, must be gradual, comprehensive, and constructed carefully from the ground up.
American statesmen should begin by creating a climate conducive for change. This would entail, firstly, concrete measures to assure against terrorist attacks, to effect troop withdrawals, and enact a verifiable cease-fire. There should be a freeze on settlement-building as well as on warlike propaganda in the press, TV, and in children's textbooks. Borders should be open to people and goods, and restrictions on trade and cultural exchanges removed.
These steps will help stabilize the area for the next, crucial stage: the democratization of the Middle East. This will entail a long-term policy of incentivizing the Arab countries to adopt democratic institutions and principles, while penalizing those who refuse. The United States can wield its influence toward the development of a truly free press in the area, and the guarantee of basic human and civil rights. The conduct of free and fair elections should be the condition upon which the United States should insist in maintaining relations with any Middle Eastern state.
Only after stability and democracy have been attained can the parties address the core issues of Israeli security, Palestinian statehood, and the status of Jerusalem. The final peace treaty will be signed not just by Israel and the Palestinians, but by all Arab leaders, and guaranteed by the United States.
Such a process would have seemed illusory only a few months ago, but recent events have generated unprecedented opportunities for peacemaking. Shaken by Israel's military incursion, Palestinians at the grass-roots level are insisting on democratic reforms which, once instituted, will inspire similar demands throughout the Arab world. Israelis, though determined to stand up to terrorism, are more than ever willing to make extensive sacrifices for peace. Spurred out of inaction by its own war against terrorism, the Bush administration is ready to focus its energies on curbing the violence and making substantive progress toward peace.
Peace cannot, however, be attained by imposing fragile agreements over rotten cores. Rather, a solid foundation must be laid capable of supporting a lasting and durable arrangement. The process will no doubt be long and arduous, but there is no other way of permanently ending the conflict. History has shown that democracies rarely make war on one another, and the democratic states of the Middle East will likely be no exception.
Michael B. Oren, Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, is the author of Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, published in May by Oxford University Press.
Build strong foundation and peace will come
War didn't "break out"! The Arabs ATTACKED Israel!
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