By Rick Larsen, other
The resignation of Mahmoud Abbas and the appointment of Ahmed Qurei as his replacement as the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority have fully thrown off course the Road Map to peace.
Only one month ago I traveled to Israel as a member of the largest Congressional delegation to ever visit Israel. While there, I had an opportunity to meet with both former-Prime Minister Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. At the time, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority were struggling to implement the Road Map requirements.
Abbas’ humble welcome to the delegation belied a history of being one of Yasser Arafat’s right-hand men in the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s past terror campaigns. This history makes it all the more interesting that Silvan Shalom, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, told us that it was official Israeli policy to take actions to enhance the credibility of Abbas within the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas’ message to us was a recounting of key issues that impact the Road Map peace process. He argued that the security fence, which he referred to as a wall, should be dismantled. However, when pressed on this issue, he conceded that the fence might be less of an issue if Israel had been building it on non-West Bank lands. He argued that the recent announcement that Israel would release 545 political prisoners, in addition to those 248 released before the Aqaba summit, was inadequate. His sentiment echoed Arafat’s claim that the release was a fraud.
What Abbas failed to explain is that the Israeli government’s difficult decision to release prisoners was not a required element of the Road Map peace process. The Israeli government took this step unilaterally and specifically as a confidence-building measure for the peace process and to help enhance Abbas’ credibility.
Abbas’ third issue was the continued presence of Israeli forces in Palestinian settlements and cities in the West Bank. Recent suicide bombers have come from these cities. The Israeli government’s position is that, short of a Palestinian Authority effort to dismantle all terrorist infrastructure, Israeli troops will be present in the West Bank.
Finally, the issue of terrorist infrastructure still hangs. The most important action that Abbas could have taken to silence his critics was the necessary step during the now-dead temporary ceasefire: to dismantle the infrastructure supporting terrorist groups such as Hamas. The number one obstacle to that step was Yasser Arafat, a picture of whom hung over the meeting as a constant reminder of who was really in charge.
Sharon’s message was simple: for real peace, Israel is ready to make painful compromises. He noted that Israel is a small country but has a determined people.
He echoed Foreign Affairs Minister Shalom’s earlier comments that Israeli policy is to enhance Abbas’s credibility, and he pointed out recent changes the Palestinian Authority has implemented. He noted that incitements —the agitating of anti-Israeli opinion — had decreased. He emphasized that, except for the recent shooting north of Bethlehem, the temporary ceasefire had held.
Sharon cautioned, however, that the Road Map peace process would not move forward to the next phase without completing the current phase in full. What he emphasized the most was a full cessation of terror. Sharon noted that Arafat’s strategy of terror has not changed, and Arafat continued to undermine every step Abbas took.
Thinking back to the Abbas meeting, the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister expressed his sincere belief in two main goals for his government: first, a rule of law must exist for all Palestinian people. Second, it was his goal to have one security force. This was important because there are currently 13 separate security forces, 10 of which Arafat controls.
I bring this up because two things strike me most about this pair of meetings. Both men had a vision for their people. Sharon’s vision is a vision shared by most Jews, an Israel for the Jewish people with secure borders living in peace with its neighbors. Abbas’ vision was not expressed as clearly but was still there: a state for Palestinians, living securely under the rule of law.
Abbas’ resignation and the seeming resurrection of Arafat now mean these visions are on hold. If the Palestinian Authority cannot have leadership willing to wrest itself from the hold of Arafat and terrorist groups, then Israel must continue to defend itself from suicide bombers.
I have to be honest. I am much less hopeful now than I was just a month ago about the short-term prospects for peace and resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, I am more certain now than ever that the United States must stay involved for there to be any success of the Road Map or any long-term future peace process. The ground rules may have changed with Abbas’ resignation, but our interests have not.