Colonization of Palestine precludes
peace
by Jimmy Carter
www.haaretz.com/, March 17, 2006
For more than a quarter century, Israeli
policy has been in conflict with that of the United States and
the international community. Israel's occupation of Palestine
has obstructed a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land,
regardless of whether Palestinians had no formalized government,
one headed by Yasser Arafat or Mahmoud Abbas, or with Abbas as
president and Hamas controlling the parliament and cabinet. __
The unwavering U.S. position since Dwight
Eisenhower's administration has been that Israel's borders coincide
with those established in 1949, and since 1967, the universally
adopted UN Resolution 242 has mandated Israel's withdrawal from
the occupied territories. This policy was reconfirmed even by
Israel in 1978 and 1993, and emphasized by all American presidents,
including George W. Bush. As part of the Quartet, including Russia,
the UN and the European Union, he has endorsed a "road map"
for peace. But Israel has officially rejected its basic premises
with patently unacceptable caveats and prerequisites. __
With Israel's approval, The Carter Center
has monitored all three Palestinian elections. Supervised by a
blue-ribbon commission of college presidents and distinguished
jurists, they have all been honest, fair and peaceful, with the
results accepted by winners and losers. _
Hamas will control the cabinet and prime
minister's office, but Mahmoud Abbas retains all authority and
power exercised by Yasser Arafat. He still heads the PLO, the
only Palestinian entity recognized by Israel, and could deal with
Israeli leaders under this umbrella, independent of Hamas control.
He has unequivocally endorsed the Quartet's road map. Post-election
polls show that 80 percent of Palestinians still want a peace
agreement with Israel and nearly 70 percent support Abbas as president.
__
Israel has announced a policy of isolating
and destabilizing the new government (perhaps joined by the United
States). The elected officials will be denied travel permits and
workers from isolated Gaza barred from entering Israel, and every
effort is being made to block funds to Palestinians. The Quartet's
special envoy, James Wolfensohn, has proposed that donors assist
the Palestinian people without violating anti-terrorism laws that
prohibit funds from being sent directly to Hamas. __In the short
run, the best approach is to follow Wolfensohn's advice, give
the dust a chance to settle in Palestine and await the outcome
of Israel's election later this month. Hamas wishes now to consolidate
its political gains, maintain domestic order and stability, and
refrain from any contacts with Israel. It will be a tragedy -
especially for the Palestinians - if they promote or condone terrorism.
__
The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's
colonization of Palestine. There were just a few hundred settlers
in the West Bank and Gaza when I became president, but the Likud
government expanded settlement activity after I left office. President
Ronald Reagan condemned this policy, and reaffirmed that Resolution
242 remained "the foundation stone of America's Middle East
peace effort." President George H.W. Bush even threatened
to reduce American aid to Israel. __Although President Bill Clinton
made strong efforts to promote peace, a massive increase of settlers
occurred during his administration, to 225,000, mostly while Ehud
Barak was prime minister. Their best official offer to the Palestinians
was to withdraw 20 percent of them, leaving 180,000 in 209 settlements,
covering about 5 percent of the occupied land. __The 5 percent
figure is grossly misleading, with surrounding areas taken or
earmarked for expansion, roadways joining settlements with each
other and to Jerusalem, and wide arterial swaths providing water,
sewage, electricity and communications.
This intricate honeycomb divides the entire
West Bank into multiple fragments, often uninhabitable or even
unreachable. Recently, Israeli leaders have decided on unilateral
actions without involving either the United States or the Palestinians,
with withdrawal from Gaza as the first step. As presently circumscribed
and isolated, without access to the air, sea or the West Bank,
Gaza is a nonviable economic and political entity. __
The future of the West Bank is equally
dismal. Especially troublesome is Israel's construction of huge
concrete dividing walls in populated areas and high fences in
rural areas - located entirely on Palestinian territory and often
with deep intrusions to encompass more land and settlements. The
wall is designed to surround a truncated Palestine completely,
and a network of exclusive highways will cut across what is left
of Palestine to connect Israel with the Jordan River Valley. __
This will never be acceptable either to
Palestinians or to the international community, and will inevitably
precipitate increased tension and violence within Palestine, and
stronger resentment and animosity from the Arab world against
America, which will be held accountable for the plight of the
Palestinians. __
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
others pointed out years ago that Israel's permanent occupation
will be increasingly difficult as the relative number of Jewish
citizens decreases demographically both within Israel and in Palestine.
This is obvious to most Israelis, who also view this dominant
role as a distortion of their ancient moral and religious values.
Over the years, opinion polls have consistently shown that about
60 percent of Israelis favor withdrawing from the West Bank in
exchange for permanent peace. Similarly, an overwhelming number
of both Israelis and Palestinians want a durable two-state solution.
Casualties have increased during the past
few years as the occupying forces imposed tighter controls. From
September 2000 until March 2006, 3,982 Palestinians and 1,084
Israelis were killed in the conflict, and this includes many children:
708 Palestinians and 123 Israelis. __
There is little doubt that accommodation
with the Palestinians can bring full Arab recognition of Israel
and its right to live in peace. Any rejectionist policies of Hamas
or any terrorist group will be overcome by an overall Arab commitment
to restrain further violence and to promote the well-being of
the Palestinian people. __
Down through the years, I have seen despair
and frustration evolve into optimism and progress and, even now,
we need not give up hope for permanent peace for Israelis and
freedom and justice for Palestinians if three basic premises are
honored: __
1. Israel's right to exist - and to live
in peace - must be recognized and accepted by Palestinians and
all other neighbors; __
2. The killing of innocent people by suicide
bombs or other acts of violence cannot be condoned; and __
3. Palestinians must live in peace and
dignity, and permanent Israeli settlements on their land are a
major obstacle to this goal. __Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter
led The Carter Center/National Democratic Institute observation
of the Palestinian elections in January.
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