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OUT NOW! Palestinians and Israeli Conflict Posted: Monday, September 3, 2001 (Tanya Reinhart) In contrast to the spirit of blood and revenge which is now dominating the Israeli public discourse, there has been for years a wide consensus in the Israeli society that peace with the Palestinians requires withdrawal from the occupied territories and evacuation of settlements. Many of the withdrawal supporters got indeed confused and paralyzed by the massive propaganda about the far reaching concessions which Barak supposedly offered and which the Palestinians rejected. But a process of sobering up has began. (According to a poll published in Ha'aretz, July 4, 2001, 40% of the Israelis support the evacuation of ALL settlements; 52% support forceful evacuation of part of the settlements in a unilateral withdrawal.) Many other will join when they realize that the alternative is, at best, a return to the pre-Oslo days: two months of reserve service every year and horrible terror attacks. Despite the wide support, implementation of this sensible plan seems further away every year. Since Oslo, the dream of peace was replaced by the myth of negotiations. We are facing difficult and complex problems - so the Oslo myth has been going - which require years, maybe generations, of negotiations. And until the whole deal is agreed upon, it is impossible to evacuate even one tiny settlement. Shortly after Oslo, Labor MP Haggai Merom tried to organize evacuation with compensation for the settlers who were willing to evacuate. Thousands enrolled in the office he opened. But prime minister Rabin announced: not now! Since then, the number of settlers doubled from 100.000 to almost 200.000, and the negotiations only became more and more entangled and complicated. This route has failed. Even if Arafat will agree to resume the road of eternal 'negotiations' (as some of the Israeli doves are urging him to do), we have lost the faith of the Palestinian people, who are not willing anymore to listen to vague promises about a future which never materializes, while they watch more and more of their lands being taken by the settlers. The lesson is clear. For true negotiations, we must first withdraw - as we did in Lebanon. It is astounding how simple it is to do this. Most of the occupied territories can be evacuated immediately, within two or three months. MORE "THE SECOND HALF OF 48" THE SHARON-YA'ALON PLAN PALESTINE: PRESENT AND CLEAR REALITY By Edward W. Said |
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