http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/05/opinion/05PACH.html
Israel's Doomed Peace
By ALLEGRA PACHECO, The New York Times, 10/05/2000
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - In the last few years I have watched a
curly-haired, wide- eyed Palestinian girl named Balqis, the child of a
family I am close to, grow into a cheerful kindergartener in a refugee
camp in Bethlehem. Four days ago, Israeli soldiers entered the area
and suddenly fired near her school. Three children in the schoolyard
were injured. Balqis was shot in the chest and now lies in the
hospital in stable condition. Palestinians blame the Israelis; the
Israelis blame Yasir Arafat; everyone blames Ariel Sharon for his
decision to visit the site in Jerusalem that Muslims call Noble
Sanctuary.
But pointing the finger solely at Mr. Sharon for the violence in
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza simply masks the painful truth that
many supporters of the Middle East peace agreement signed in Oslo in
1993 do not want to admit: The Oslo process cannot succeed. The
proponents of the agreement, including the Clinton administration,
never fully informed the Palestinian people that the accord did not
offer any guarantee of Palestinian self-determination, full equality
and an end to the military occupation. In reality, "Oslo" wears no
clothes at all.
In 1994, the interim phase of the peace process began with
Palestinians widely believing that by May 1999, the Israeli occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza would be over. In reality, this stage of the
accord provided only for the establishment of a Palestinian
legislature and Palestinian Authority while keeping control of overall
security and resources and commerce in the hands of the Israeli
military occupation. The transition to greater Palestinian autonomy -
not independence - was left to be negotiated, with the goal of moving
to the next stage by May 1999 - a deadline that was not met.
The agreement formally authorized the Israeli military to dictate the
movement of Palestinians, their immigration to the West Bank and Gaza,
and the location of the borders of their land. Even new legislation
issued by the Palestinian Authority had to bear an Israeli seal of
approval.
During this period of limited "self- rule," the Palestinian Authority
has become corrupt and oppressive, with officials embezzling millions
of dollars and arresting those who attempted to criticize their acts.
The Palestinian legislature became powerless, its members concerned
chiefly with amenities of office like V.I.P. treatment and new cars.
When the terms of the legislators and other officials expired at the
end of the interim period, no new elections were called. Instead,
Palestinian officials unilaterally renewed their own terms in office.
Notably, no call for new elections came from the democracies of the
West.
On the harsh ground of everyday reality in Gaza and the West Bank, the
false optimism of Oslo quickly faded when the Palestinians realized
that the interim agreement had not significantly changed the
conditions of the Israeli occupation. Since 1994, Palestinians have
seen the influx of 50,000 new Jewish settlers into the West Bank and
Gaza, the paving of more than 400 kilometers of roads on confiscated
land, demolition of more than 800 Palestinian homes, a threefold
increase in unemployment in the territories and a 21 percent decline
in their gross domestic product, the arrest of 13,000 Palestinians,
and complete curtailment of freedom of movement.
Last month, I was part of a group of 60 Israeli peace activists
issuing a warning that resonates today.
"We believe that the negotiations currently being conducted between
representatives of the State of Israel and Palestinian representatives
under the supervision of the United States will likely frame the basis
for future war," our warning said. "The establishment of a Palestinian
state truncated by a massive system of bypass roads, encircled by
Israeli settlement blocs, subject to closures and restrictions on
freedom of movement and commerce, with no control of its borders or
natural resources, will only create a reality of apartheid; a
Palestinian state as a Bantustan."
Ariel Sharon's provocative visit was merely the spark that lit a
mountain of frustration and anger built over seven years. Without
justice and full equality, including the right of Palestinian refugees
to return to their homeland, the Oslo process cannot bring about any
semblance of viable peace. Palestinians know this now, and Balqis is
just one of the many thousands who are paying and will continue to pay
the awful price.
