http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?id=51872&mador=4
Wednesday, July 21, 1999
The refugees of peace
By Amira Hass
One short statement by Ehud Barak was enough to shatter the
saccharine facade of a renewed atmosphere of peace, which
participants in the Israeli-American summit worked hard to present
to the world media.The solution to the problem of the Palestinian
refugees, Barak told American interviewers, will be found within
the boundaries of the countries where they currently reside. Pure
and simple. Some will undoubtedly praise the new prime minister
for not maintaining a pretense of recognizing the agreements
(which put off formal discussion of the refugee problem,
Jerusalem, borders, distribution of water and Jewish settlements
until the negotiations on what is dubbed the "permanent"
settlement). Instead, he is basically recommending that Chairman
Yasser Arafat not foster illusions and not feed his people any
such illusions. Israel - both under the Labor-Meretz government
and under the Likud - did its best to hastily create new facts on
the ground in an effort to dictate the nature of the negotiations
and of the agreements to be reached on the questions of Jerusalem,
borders, settlements and even water. One could argue that there is
therefore no reason for the frank Barak not to express his
position today on the Palestinian refugee problem.
On the eve of renewed negotiations with Syria and Lebanon,
Barak wishes to decide for them (and for Jordan as well) that the
two-and-a-half million refugees living in their countries will
"find a solution to their problem" there. For half a century
Lebanon has made immense efforts to perpetuate the difference
between refugees and civilians by means of severe restrictions on
movement and work, and has stressed that the Palestinians were
unwelcome. Palestinians in Syria have only social-economic rights,
with no political-citizenship rights - yet the Syrian people still
closely monitor every step made by their leadership for any sign
of a wavering in its support for the Palestinians' right of return
and rehabilitation in their homeland. Dictator though he is,
President Hafez al-Assad cannot afford to do the exact opposite of
what is expected of him. Since the signing of the Oslo Accord,
Jordan has seen a rise in support for the Moslem Brotherhood among
Palestinians in its territory, mainly because they feel that the
agreement abandoned them to their fate and their transient status.
If Jordan is forced to keep these Palestinians in its territory
under the "final status agreement" because of Israel's military
supremacy, it will always fear their rebellious potential. Indeed,
Barak's brief comment regarding the refugees has already drawn
criticism in the Arab world and increased suspicion toward
him.
But even if the neighboring countries were not upset at Barak's
attempt to dictate their internal agendas, his statement/plan
demonstrates typical Israeli indifference to the Palestinian
people, a people of refugees, and to the heart of the conflict
between the Palestinians and the Jewish people in Israel. The
peace process was intended, in the eyes of both the international
community and the Palestinians, not only to force Arafat to lock
up Hamas activists and disperse demonstrations against the
settlements, but also to offer his people a fundamental change in
the life of refugeeism, dispersal and separation they have been
condemned to since 1948. Barak, who has already warned Arafat that
the entire process will be stopped if terrorism is renewed, is
proving that he is willing to accept only the first part of this
equation.
On the one hand, Barak declares that there will be a
Palestinian state, but on the other hand, he dictates who will
live in it. By making this his opening position, Barak is
weakening Arafat on all three of his fronts: vis-a-vis the Arab
states, vis-a-vis the refugee communities in these states, and
vis-a-vis his people in the territories. Barak has also announced
his intention of leaving settlement blocs in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. These will be populated not only by Jews currently
living in crowded conditions in Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood
or in Ofakim, but also by new immigrants (Jewish or not) who
arrived in the country only a few days earlier. Barak may be able
to explain to his own people why new immigrants are entitled to
what is denied from people who still hold keys to their homes in
Katamon and Sheikh Munis (Ramat Aviv). Arafat, or any other
Palestinian leader, will have difficulties explaining this to his
people.
During his trip to the United States, Barak declared that he
wished to be the prime minister of all Jews, throughout the world.
According to Israeli law, all those Jews are entitled to enjoy his
leadership not only in the diaspora, but as citizens of the state
of Israel. In order to become citizens they don't have to have
lived here all their lives, know Hebrew or even know the city
street names. But Palestinians who were born here, who still
remember that the number 11 bus travels from central Jerusalem to
Dir Yassin (Givat Shaul) and that two cacti and a berry tree grow
to the west of the bus stop - they are not entitled to be united
with their families here, in their homeland.
Barak can live very well indeed with this blunt and arrogant
inequality. But if this is the kind of peace we are offering the
Palestinian people, who needs war.
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