No shortcuts on this peace road

[QueerJustice]

By Jonathan Rynhold



Since the death of Yasser Arafat and the election of Abu Mazen, many in the European Union and on the Israeli left favor a speedy return to permanent status negotiations with the Palestinians that would seek to resolve all outstanding elements of the conflict. This would be a serious mistake because core emotive issues, especially that of refugees, remain "unripe" for resolution. Any attempt to resolve matters comprehensively in the near future could have the opposite effect by triggering a descent into a "Bosnia-style" ethnic conflict. Instead, the objective should be to manage the conflict in such a way as to facilitate its resolution in the long run.

Advocates of a swift move to permanent status negotiations view the Geneva Initiative, promoted by Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, as the model for a fast-track comprehensive resolution of the conflict. Regarding the most difficult issue of Palestinian refugees, Geneva seeks to overcome the diametrically opposed positions of the Israeli and Palestinian publics by dealing with the question practically and not symbolically. Thus, the "right of return" is simply not mentioned in the draft agreement. Instead a mechanism is proposed that grants Palestinian refugees the right to choose a destination, gives Israel the right to restrict the numbers of people entering its territory and authorizes an international committee to settle any disputes.

According to a survey conducted by Khalil Shikaki in 2003, 10 percent of all refugees, 400,000 Palestinians, would want to immigrate to Israel. While this number is far higher than any quota Israel would be prepared to consider, methodological problems with the survey mean this figure is probably a substantial underestimation! Thus, any attempt to implement the Geneva mechanism is likely to generate a severe crisis, since no Palestinian leader, no matter how moderate, will be able to confront the masses of refugees rejected by Israel, and no Israeli leader could conceivably agree to accept such a large number of refugees. Confronted by high passions, and in all likelihood mired by internal paralysis, the international committee would be unable to resolve the matter.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/530128.html

[QueerJustice]

1. The best peace plan is ANY one that is..

accepted by a majority on both sides and is irreversible an permanant.....