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Why is there no Israeli-Palestinian Peace?

(The New Republic) Yossi Kleain Halevi - The peace process is over; in fact there never was a peace process, if by that we mean a mutual process of reconciliation. "Land for peace" wasn't an option because recognition of Israel's legitimacy was never being offered. The current war isn't merely a glitch on the way to an inevitable comprehensive peace, but the end of the assumption that a comprehensive peace is possible, perhaps in our generation. In numerous conversations I've had over the years with Palestinians, from all levels of society, when I'd ask the question, "What will happen after the peace?" the answers almost invariably focused on the next phase of repatriating Palestinian refugees and transforming Israel into a bi-national entity. When the war over Israel as a state ends, the war against Israel as a Jewish state will begin. Most Israelis agree that renewing the peace process is impossible so long as Arafat controls the PA, a point reinforced by Abu Mazen's downfall. And unilateral withdrawal, however appealing, will only reinforce the message of Israel's Lebanon withdrawal that Israel is on the run - a message which encouraged the current Palestinian terror offensive. Construction of the fence sends a message to the Palestinians that the absence of a willingness to negotiate a compromise settlement will eventually result in a unilaterally imposed border that will be less advantageous to the Palestinians than the offer they rejected at Camp David. We've made a mistake in demonizing Arafat because the problem is hardly Arafat alone, but the widespread Palestinian and Arab refusal to grant us genuine recognition. Gambling on Arafat was symptomatic of our refusal to recognize the depth of Arab rejection. The widespread resistance in the Arab world to granting legitimacy to Jewish history, from Holocaust-denial to Temple-denial, isn't a side-effect of the conflict. It is the conflict. Blaming Sharon, even partly, for not supporting Abu Mazen is to fail to understand that Abu Mazen couldn't be saved, because he was the victim of a political targeted assassination by Arafat. There is no massive construction going on in the settlements. The latest building, which made front-page news and attracted Collin Powell's concern, involves 600 apartments mostly in the West Bank towns of Maale Adumim and Efrat, both of which will remain within Israel's borders no matter what deal is ultimately negotiated.
2003-10-13 00:00:00
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