Joel Silberman; Geneva-Accord.org, 10.05.06  

 
Hello friends,

Much has happened in the region since we last checked in.  The Israelis had an election, if you didn't hear, and the resultant government has been given a mandate to significantly withdraw from the occupied territories.  The question now is not whether or not there will be a withdraw, but rather how much of a withdrawal there will be and in what context.  Will the withdrawal be a strictly unilateral one?  Or will it be done in the framework of some kind of negotiation?

In his acceptance speech of March 28th, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the following:

"In the coming period we will aspire to bring about the shaping of the permanent status borders of the state of Israel, as a Jewish state with a constant Jewish majority and as a democratic state. We will act to do so through negotiations and an agreement with our Palestinian neighbors. This is our wish. This is also our prayer. There is no better substitute for a peace treaty. There is no peace which is more stable than one based on an agreement.”   

Assuming that these words aren't just lip-service – a leap of faith, to be sure, but not an entirely unreasonable one – it is a paramount mission of the Geneva Initiative at this point to keep the Prime Minister to his word – and to help figure out the most potentially beneficial ways in which negotiations might take place.  One thing is certain: a unilateral withdrawal would not bring about lasting peace, but will instead be meant – probably foolhardily – to redefine the conflict as a "border dispute" (click here to read more on this subject).  Even Israel's perennial ally the United States has said that the pullout line won't be seen as a final border (click here).  Granting, then, that the interest of peace is better served by negotiation, how and with whom should these negotiations be conducted?

Many negotiation advocates within Israel and Palestine, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, are encouraging Prime Minister Olmert to negotiate with the only representative of the Palestinian people officially recognized by Israel: PLO Chair (and Palestinian President) Mahmoud Abbas.  Gershon Baskin writes passionately and persuasively that the "logical direction for [the new Israeli] government" would be to negotiate with Abbas (click here to read that article), and Haaretz columnist Akiva Eldar insists that Abbas "is a partner".  (He also chides Foreign Minister Tzvipi Livni for seemingly fast-tracking the unilateral option – click here to read the article).  These are but two writers representing a train of thought to which many Israelis subscribe. 

In the Palestinian camp, many close to Abbas have also harped on this theme, calling for an international summit on the conflict which would also include direct, bilateral negotiations with Israel over final-status issues.  Click here to read a particularly good example of this argument from the Chairman's office.  Also, click here to read a similar argument by the PLO's representative to the UK, who warns that the conflict now faces the "last chance for two states."

All of these arguments would necessitate a referendum or some other sort of vote of confidence from the Palestinian people as a means of bypassing the recently elected Hamas-led Palestinian Legislative Council.  But what of the possibility of negotiating with Hamas directly? 

Some within Israel, Palestine and the international community have been advocating this tact as well.  And while a few of the people advancing this line come from the dovish political left (click here to read this piece by Peace Now activist Galia Golan), several voices from other political arenas are coming out of the woodwork as well.  Particularly notable is former Mossad Chief Efraim Halevy, who says that Israel should talk with its "deathly enemy" and notes that it is "entirely different" from Al-Qaeda type organizations because its aims are primarily territorial.  (Click here to read the article.)  Similarly, Lebanese journalist Rami Khouri insists that it will be better for Israel to deal with Hamas than with the fanatical, post-nationalist Al Qaeda type organizations that would likely take its place in the event of a collapse of the Hamas-led PA (click here).   Henry Siegman, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, goes so far as to pose the question, "Hamas: the Last Chance for Peace?" in a recent New York Review of Books article (click here). 

 Still others are advocating stances that would incorporate both elements – negotiations with Abbas while also, directly or indirectly, dealing with Hamas.  Yonatan Touval of the Economic Cooperation Foundation, an Israeli think-tank, outlines a series of diplomatic benchmarks for Hamas which could be put in place while also engaging in bilateral negotiations with Abbas (click here).  The Geneva Initiative's own Daniel Levy also outlines a scenario of testing Hamas' intentions and capacity for moderation while also reaching out to the Palestinian President (click here).  Both Levy and Touval call on the international community to help enact such plans.

Beyond the more theoretical notions of different sorts of negotiation, there remains an immediate crisis on the ground in PA administered areas right now as the international community continues to totally financially isolate the Hamas-led government – and the innocent people living under its rule.  Click here to read a piece from the London Telegraph and here to read a piece from the New York Times, both illustrating the abysmal situation.  Also, click here to read a recent Ghassan Khatib piece arguing that Abbas must be allowed to be the "link" to restart PA funding, channeling resources through him and bypassing Hamas, which is deemed a terrorist organization by the United States, Europe and Israel.

Finally, to end on a more optimistic note, click here to read an uplifting and under-reported story about former decorated IDF officers and former Fatah militants recently coming together and forming a new organization, Combatants for Peace.  Their launching was presided over by Geneva Initiative signatory Kadura Fares and GI mastermind Yasser Abed Rabo.

Best regards,
Joel Silberman
Geneva Initiatve

P.S.  I have received requests from some of you to be put in touch with one-another.  If any of you would like to meet others in your area who are on this list, please let me know.