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June
30, 2003
Uri
Avnery
Hope in Dark Times
June
28 / 29, 2003
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Shahid Alam
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St. Clair
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June
30, 2003
The Road Map and the Wall
Illusions
About the "New" Sharon
By NEVE GORDON
The new peace initiative called the "Road Map"
has a few advantages. In contrast to the Oslo Accords and a variety
of other proposals, it affirms that Israel must put an "end
to the occupation" as well as ensure the creation of a "viable
Palestinian State."
As opposed to "Tenet" and "Mitchell,"
the two previous initiatives sponsored solely by the United States,
the Road Map was devised and introduced by the Quartet; namely,
the United Nations, European Union, Russia, and U.S. Insofar
as the Quartet rather than just the U.S. will be the arbiter
of this proposal, it will have a more balanced and fairer adjudicator.
The Road Map also states that a peaceful
solution must be informed by the principle of land for peace
as well as UN resolutions 242, 338,1397, and the Saudi proposal,
documents that underscore some central issues not mentioned in
the current initiative. Finally, it is a performance-based rather
than declaratory document, and each side must carry out its  obligations concurrently within very
specific and short timeframes. So while the Palestinian Authority
democratizes its institutions and tries to quell attacks on Israelis,
the Israeli military must withdraw to the positions it held prior
to September 2000.
Despite improvements over previous initiatives,
the Road Map contains at least one essential flaw that can easily
undermine the successful realization of a just peace.
The proposal is based on a three-phase
solution. The first two phases have concrete guidelines that
specify each side's obligations and determine the dates of implementation.
The four most difficult issues are, however, left to the final
phase. Within a year following the beginning of this phase, the
two parties are supposed to resolve the differences that have
been at the heart of the conflict for over 36 years: 1) the final
borders between the two states; 2) the status of Jerusalem; 3)
the dismantlement of the Jewish settlements; and 4) the right
of return of Palestinian refugees.
The Road Map itself says nothing about
how these four problems are to be resolved. Yet, the power differential
between the two sides is such that the Palestinians will have
to depend on the good intentions of the Israelis. And since Prime
Minister Sharon does not seem to have good intentions, this proposal,
like the ones before it, is unlikely to beget a lasting peace.
The media has, nonetheless, expressed
enthusiasm about Sharon, claiming that he is no longer the warmonger
he used to be, but rather a man of peace. To demonstrate their
point, they emphasize the military's current efforts to dismantle
Jewish outposts and cite Sharon's statement that "Israel
must end the occupation of 3.5 million Palestinians." The
desire to believe in a better future is so great that some liberal
Israelis have even begun to trust the "new Sharon."
Israel's premier, however, is a chameleon.
The military did indeed dismantle a few outposts in a series
of operations well coordinated with the media. But the international
press has conveniently forgotten that since entering office Sharon
has allowed the settlers to build over 60 outposts. Along the
same lines, he is probably sincere in his hope that Israel will
end the occupation of 3.5 million Palestinians; however, he is
unwilling to end the occupation of Palestine. People yes, land
no.
The crucial point is that while Sharon
is feigning to be a peacenik, he is creating facts on the ground
that will undermine any future agreement between Israelis and
Palestinians. The major issue is not so much the ongoing military
operations, but rather the separation wall or "security
fence," a complex series of barriers, trenches, roads,
and fences.
A map published in the Israeli paper
Yedioth Ahronoth reveals that the so-called security fence, whose
initial objective was to protect Israelis from the infiltration
of suicide bombers, is not being erected on the 1967 borders.
Rhetoric aside, the wall is being built in order to expropriate
land. If Sharon succeeds, no less than fifty percent of the West
Bank will be annexed to Israel!
Additionally, the area allocated for
the Palestinian state-to-be will be divided into three enclaves,
not including the Gaza Strip, which will be walled in on all
sides. The Palestinian city Kalkilya, home of 40,000 people,
is already a ghetto. Moreover, eighty percent of the water aquifers
will be under Israeli control, making the enclaves dependent
on Israel.
One cannot understand Sharon's attitude
towards the Road Map without examining the political objectives
of the separation wall. A Palestinian friend put it well when
he claimed that the wall is, in a sense, like the Hamas. "The
two," he said, "are against the Road Map."
Neve Gordon
teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. He is one
of the writers featured in The
Other Israel: Voices of Dissent and Refusal and can be
reached at ngordon@bgumail.bgu.ac.il.
Weekend Edition
Features
M.
Shahid Alam
Bernard Lewis: Scholarship or Sophistry?
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Meet Steven Griles: Big Oil's Inside
Man
Laura
Carlsen
Democracy's Future: From the Polls or the Populace?
Alan Maass
You Call These Democrats an Alternative?
C.Y.
Gopinath
Bush and Kindergarten
Noah Leavitt
Bush, the Death Penalty and International Law
Joanne
Mariner
Rehnquist Family Values
Ignacio
Chapela
Tenure, Censorship and Biotech at Berkeley
Bob
Scowcroft
Bush's Squeeze on Organic Farmers
Jon Brown
Tom Delay: "I am the Government"
Kam
Zarrabi
Keep Your Hands Off Iran, Please!
Ron Jacobs
Big Bill Broonzy's Conversation with the Blues
Julie
Hilden
Fear Factor: Art, Terror and the First Amendment
Adrien
Rain Burke
The Anarchists' Wedding Guide
Adam
Engel
US Troops Outta Times Square
Poets'
Basement
Witherup, Guthrie, Albert, Hamod
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