Israel Should Not Pay the Price for Iraq
Tony Blair’s approach to Iraq is perhaps most admired because of the tremendous sense of conviction and justice motivating his position. For that reason, the British prime minister’s repeated need to refer in the same breath as Iraq to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and especially the diplomatic "road map" for resolving this conflict, is perplexing.
Only Buffer Zones Can Protect Israel
JERUSALEM — It is doubtful that another case can be found in recent history of a nation that has been willing to take greater risks for peace than has Israel. Eight years ago, Israel embarked on a diplomatic experiment by agreeing to grant authority to the Palestine Liberation Organization, an organization whose founding charter called for Israel’s annihilation, and to its leader, Yasir Arafat, in the disputed territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Cease-Fire That Never Was
During Yasser Arafat’s war against the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the early 1970s, the PLO was known to have reached 22 cease-fire agreements, each of which it subsequently broke.
The understandings reached two nights ago between Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres and Arafat were not even a formal cease-fire, but only an agreement for the reduction of violence. Yet it should not have come as a surprise that even this less ambitious agreement would fail.
A New Diplomacy . . .
Whether the Sharm el-Sheikh summit succeeds or not, at some point the violence in the Middle East will subside, and Israelis will ask themselves where do they go from here. Today a growing majority of Israelis, including many disillusioned members of the peace camp, are stating that PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat is not a partner for peace. They are right, but implied in this view is that Israel has no diplomatic options for the future.
The Palestinian Provocation
Every Israeli ambassador to the United Nations since the days of Abba Eban has been under clear instructions to keep the U.N. away from the issue of Jerusalem. So it surprises many that Israeli and American diplomats have been considering placing the Temple Mount, the most sensitive religious site in Jerusalem, under the control of the U.N. Security Council.
An Israeli Jerusalem for All
Underlying the post-Camp David debate over Jerusalem is a fundamentally disturbing assumption that Jerusalem cannot possibly remain united under the sovereignty of the Jewish state, but instead must somehow be shared. Strikingly, this notion of sharing holy cities has not been applied to other cases in the international community…
Why Camp David II Failed
Since the peace process was launched in 1991, the Middle East has become a much more dangerous place. Mr. Arafat is now less willing to compromise.
What Happened to Secure Borders for Israel? The U.S., Israel, and the Strategic Jordan Valley
For three decades, Israeli foreign ministers from Abba Eban through Ariel Sharon have insisted before the international community that Israel could not withdraw in the West Bank to the vulnerable 1967 lines from which it was attacked at the start of the Six-Day War. The great diplomatic victory of November 1967 was the language of UN Security Council Resolution 242 that legitimized Israel’s call for "secure borders."
Reshuffled Deck on Syrian-Israeli Negotiations
In a period of tremendous political uncertainty following the death of Syrian president Hafez Assad, one element of his political legacy is especially likely to overshadow the peace process in the years ahead: the terms he laid out in his failed Geneva summit with US President Bill Clinton.
No Security, No Peace
Historic turning points are not always easy to discern. The September 1993 handshake on the White House lawn between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat appeared to be such a turning point, representing the beginning of Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.
Israel and the PLO Now Struggle for Leverage
Now that the drama surrounding the Israel-PLO signing ceremony has passed, it is critical to consider just what this accord means for the future of the Arab-Israel conflict. Are we speaking about a historical reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians that will bring a new era of stability to the Middle East? Or will many of the struggles of the past just be rechanneled within new parameters?
