TOWARD A NEW DEAL BETWEEN ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS?

 

Peace is a growing possibility in the Middle East, if (it is a big 'if') Israel is ready to make concessions to Palestinians, presently treated as cheap labor by the Israeli private sector and as second-rate citizens by the State of Israel.

Fear is at the heart of the problem: Israeli fear of the Palestinians, Palestinian fear of the Israelis. The population of Israel is still obsessed by the past series of traumatic wars that took place with its Arabs neighbors many decades ago, from the War of Independence to the Yom Kippur War. The last major confrontation, though, was two generations ago. Many things have changed since then.

Israel presently enjoys secure borders to the south (with Egypt) and to the east (with Jordan), following the conclusion of peace treaties with these two countries. Moreover, the only part of its borders that are not covered by peace treaties are to the north, facing Lebanon and Syria. And those borders are not only short in length, they’re also shared with countries that are in no shape to be a threat to the survival of the State of Israel, Lebanon because of its acute and deepening economic difficulties, Syria because of a civil war that has ravaged that country for years and still continue.

In fact, the only real impediment to peace is the Palestinian question. The very existence of Israel is less and less problematic for most Arabs living in the neighboring countries, concerned first and foremost with finding the necessities of living. After all, Jews have been living in that part of the globe for millennia, and their return cannot really be seen as non-acceptable per se.

The fate of the Palestinians is a different matter, and it remains crucial to the eyes of most Arab governments and of most Arabs in general, for good reasons. The way Palestinians are treated in Israel proper and, even more, in the occupied territories is shameful, and must be recognized as such by the government of Israel.

That problem must be address. Only the creation of a viable and sovereign State for the Palestinian population, on a territory that is large enough to be economically sound and that is void of colonies, can lead to long-lasting peace. Such a creation has to be the result of sincere and all-encompassing negotiations, and has be part of a comprehensive framework that includes treaties on the movement of goods, people, and money over the borders-to-be-draw; military arrangements between the two entities; economic forms of partnership; powers of supervision delegated to the United Nations and/or other entities; etc.

It is important to say that none of that can be possible without the Israeli government acknowledging at last the necessity of letting Palestinians build their own future. That is why Israel must show itself ready to discuss with Palestinian representatives. The emergence of new players on the Middle East, especially China, the better relations that now exist between Israel and its neighbors, and the need to concentrate the world's energies on bigger problems, like the fight against climate change and the diversification of a regional economy too much centered on oil, may create favorable conditions that could break the present stalemate, and change the geopolitical realities prevailing in that part of the world.

Who knows, we might be at the threshold of a new deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Comment/Ruthless-power-battles-in-Middle-East-give-Asia-a-golden-chance