Israel and Palestine Can Still Achieve Peace

This month marks 15 painful years since the Arafat-Rabin handshake on the White House lawn. Palestinian children who started school when the Oslo Agreement was signed in 1993 are now young adults. They have not known a day of true freedom or genuine security in their lives.

Oslo offered peace on a timetable, freedom doled out in stages. Its promise was derailed by increased Israeli settlement construction, restrictions on Palestinian movement and, correspondingly, by violent resistance to occupation from some Palestinians. The process begun by President George Bush in Annapolis last year offers another opportunity to reach a lasting peace. History will judge none of us kindly if we squander this opportunity.

I continue to believe that we can achieve a lasting peace, with the Israeli and Palestinian peoples living as neighbors in two independent states. But if we do not succeed, and succeed soon, the parameters of the debate are apt to shift dramatically. Israel's continued settlement expansion and land confiscation in the West Bank makes physical separation of our two peoples increasingly impossible. The number of Israeli settlers in the Palestinian West Bank grew by approximately 85% after the Oslo accords were signed.

We are impatient for our freedom. Yet partial peace, as proposed again by my current interlocutors, is not the way forward. Partial freedom is a contradiction in terms. Either a Palestinian lives free or continues to live under the yoke of Israeli military occupation.

We want our children to live with hope and the opportunity to realize their potential. Yet our daily reality worsens. We are walled into shrinking pockets of land, reminiscent of the Bantustans of South Africa. Increasingly, Israel confines us to separate and inferior roads.

Israeli leaders insist that Jerusalem not be physically divided. I agree. Although Jerusalem's sovereignty must be divided, the city itself can be shared as the capital of two states -- east for Palestine and west for Israel. While claiming to abhor dividing the city in half, Israel nonetheless splits the city through its complex of walls, tunnels and laws that segregate and discriminate between Muslim and Christian Palestinians and Israeli Jews. Israel continues to encircle the holy city with exclusively Jewish settlements that sever it from the rest of the occupied West Bank.

We acknowledge the hardships faced by our Israeli neighbors. No Israeli child should go to sleep at night in fear. The irony is that although Israel possesses the strongest military in the region, its might cannot guarantee security for its people. The lesson of the last 15 years is that only a just peace can bring true security to Israel and Palestine.

I have long believed that we must resolve our differences at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield. But the goal of these negotiations must be a fair, comprehensive and clear agreement. The negotiations cannot be a cover allowing the stronger party to continue imposing its will.

Rather than a partial outcome, we seek an agreement resulting in two viable and sovereign states based on 1967 borders, including a Jerusalem that is the capital of two states and a just resolution that honors the rights of the Palestinian refugees.

What is often overlooked is the enormous historic compromise we already made in accepting the two-state solution and the creation of our state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on only 22% of our historic homeland. No responsible leader could agree to a peace that further erodes this tiny territory and strips away even more of its natural resources, historic sites and beautiful landscapes. And no responsible leader will accept a "peace plan" that repackages the occupation and makes it permanent.

Israel says its goal is two states, coexisting in peace. Again, I agree. But those states must be real states -- sovereign, independent and viable. I cannot subject my people to an Israeli state and a Palestinian canton. Israel cannot have both control and peace. It cannot perpetually and illegally build settlements in the West Bank, particularly in East Jerusalem, and then argue it must keep that territory because of the existing facts on the ground.

During her most recent visit to the Holy Land, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rightly noted that Israeli settlement activity is not helpful to the peace process. Israel itself recognized this by agreeing to implement Phase I of its Roadmap obligations at Annapolis -- in other words, a settlement freeze. Yet since Annapolis, the pace of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank has nearly doubled.

Israel's occupation mindset must be exchanged for partnership and peace. And Hamas must come to the table, willing to discuss a true national dialogue based on the PLO political program. Palestinian national consensus and unity is a pressing need for our people who are thirsty for liberation. A critical Fatah conference should be held soon to allow a new generation to take charge of the Palestinian national movement.

I pledge my full cooperation in the days and months ahead. I am thankful for the efforts of the Bush administration to assist in brokering peace. I again extend my hand to the Israeli people, and I urge them and their leaders to make a choice that ensures a secure and prosperous future for both our peoples.

Mr. Abbas is chairman of the executive committee of the PLO and president of the Palestinian National Authority.

This post originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

Comments

[truelie]

"The arch of the universe is long but it bends towards justice." Hang in the Mr. President. One day peace will break through. Good luck to your people.

[Americatortures]

Your user name is perfect!! Justice for terrorist murderers.­....a "truelie"!!!

[GrainOSand]

You appear to have made up your mind on this subject. I wish I could take such a simplistic view and say that an entire people are terrorists as it relates to another group. Did God make the Palestinian people the devil? Are they a people who love wanton violence to the degree that they would risk annihilation? It does not pass the smell test and propaganda is a powerful tool.

Let sanity not vanity prevail!

[GrainOSand]

"I have long believed that we must resolve our differences at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield"
This is the language of hope for peace everlasting.
==========­==========­==========­==========­=
"We want our children to live with hope and the opportunity to realize their potential. ...daily reality worsens. ...walled into shrinking pockets of land, reminiscent of the Bantustans of South Africa. …Israel confines us to separate and inferior roads."
This is the language that puts shadows on rays of hope and predicts more horrible and devastating actions of sporadic violence arising out of frustration and despair and all out war, arising out of a realization that some cannot rise above a desire to dominate, to bring about everlasting peace. Which side it is, does not matter for it is the choosing of sides that brings about conflict in the first place. Compromise has been made concerning this question. Suffocating a people is wrong and not living up to your word is wrong. The model of promise and break promise is how America was built. Four hundred years later the native tribes are said to be, at the least impacted, and some tribes are said to be, at the worst, extinct.

If extinction by either side of the other side is the plan, then come out and say it, make a principled stand that you think the other should die. Then we will know the reason peace cannot be, at least we will know why, no one will need to lie.

[Americatortures]

Geez...How many tiimes have you heard these "leaders" of the Arabs call for the total destruction of Israel??? Do you need a personal invitation to their heinous remarks over the last 60 years???

[GrainOSand]

Now, I specifically tried not to takes sides in my comment. I will take a side now only for the purpose of debate as seen by one side of this conflict.

Now imagine you are chilling in your house and doing what you do. Somebody from outside your house comes in and says they have not only historical but also biblical rights to your house and they proceed to confine you to a closet in what was once your own house. Are you telling me that we would not see any shoes, bowling balls, and hangers being thrown from that closet in protest? Are you saying that we would not hear threats something like, “When I get out of this closet, I am going to destroy you”?

That scenario is part of those 60 years also. Personally, I am reminded of the story of Weismann and Smuts as part of that 60-year history which does not paint Israel innocent in South Africa and therefore I know there is guilt to go around.

I take the hard-line on this subject. No matter what happened yesterday, we cannot go back. We can tell the truth about what happened, we can admit wrongdoing, and then we can look at mutual desire to live in peace and prosperity. We can also acknowledge that we are tired of bloodshed. We can further acknowledge that if we do not something towards peace the result could be mutual destruction.

[Mildmannered]

It takes a powerful, wise, forward-looking, respected and creative U.S. president to bring about a deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

And at the moment there is no such person.

If Obama is elected there will be such a person in January.

[Truth789]

Mahmoud Abbas I like you and I like Israel and I wish there would be peace :)
I'm Jewish and have met many Arabic people that I really like. :)
I wish we were all friends.

[plebeianswillrevolt]

The abuse of the weak by the powerful. Lucky that could never happen in America.

[BobsNotWorking]

In what sense Charlie?

[freshnotbitter]

Abbas,

When Barack becomes President, which is likely, I think we could have success provided that Obama understands that we need a comprehensive peace program which includes everybody - even Iran - and which penalizes violators of the peace in such a way that they will not wish to do so. I think this will mean that Arabs will have to accept Israelis as brothers in return for a desirable piece of territory.

I don't see why Arabs and Israelis can't live in peace. That is what they were doing 1000 years ago when the Crusaders entered Jerusalem.

[Mogamboguru]

I wish you are right, Mr. Abbas. I dearly and sincerely wish you are right.

A just and lasting peace for all!

Salam / Shalom / Peace!

Mogamboguru

[johndordan]

Abbas is a nice man but Israel doesn't want peace. It wants to freeze negotiations as it has been doing for the past 15 years while it steals more Palestinian land. Israel engages in apartheid, and has become an expert in the warehousing of disposable human beings. It now pens up millions of Palestinians who, unlike the blacks of South Africa, do not even have the dignity of work.
The only real solution is to give Palestine back to the Palestinians and allow the Jews to live in Palestine as co-equals.

[Swerinjer]

obviously.

[BluePearl]

Mr. Abbas reconcile with Hamas. You cannot make peace as a divided people.

[guajiro]

I second the idea.

[PKSSK]

I third the idea.

[Swerinjer]

Wrong. The moral onus is squarely on Israel and America. Justice is LONG overdue.

[noneIn2008]

Why should this be a USA problem? Let the EU and Russia handle.

[GuyRC]

I can't imagine Israel agreeing to the 1967 borders for real. That would make them too vulnerable. Terrorism may seem like a good strategy to get your way but it also creates a lack of credibility when you are negotiating. You can't really convince them that they will get peace for land.

[max]

Why don't you just ask for the West Bank,Golan,and Gaza to be annexed to Israel and allow the occupied people to have a vote in their fate for the first time in most of their lives. If Israel wants the land so bad then they can take the refugees too and give them their rights under a democracy.

[speeddeeps]

one state solution, really?

[missChe]

There is a growing number of Palestinians that now feel the only way they can get any resemblence of justice is to opt for a one state solution. They know that a two state solution will not give them a viable economy to work with, and feel that Israeli citizenship is their best option for having a productive life. If you involve them in the political process they will no longer feel that they are "voiceless" and that the moderates would then shut up the extremists.

[ex-pat]

Sorry.... but maybe you don't realize we are having our own problems at the moment.

[BrazilJiujitsu83]

israel has to show it wants peace, the last true israeli peacemaker was yitzhak rabin and he was killed by a jewish fundamentalist terrorist.­...everyon­e always demands hamas and everyone recognize the right of israel to exist, when will israel acknowledge the right of palestine to exist ?

[epotruchyeahright]

It's been a long time since Golda Meir said, "There are no Palestinia­ns." If you ask the Israeli people, most will probably tell you that they want peace too. But so long as leaders of the Muslim world continue to press for the annihilation of Israel, so long as leaders claim that the Holocaust did not exist, so long as anti-Israel world leaders continue to conflate Israeli's attempts at self-preservation to apartheid and Nazism, there can be no rational dialogue about peace.

The UN gave Israel to the Jews in 1948, righting a wrong that existed for centuries. Of course, they bungled the aftermath, and there have been multiple wars ever since.

Abbas recognizes the right of Israel to exist; Hamas won't. Hezbollah won't. Syria won't. Iran won't. None of the Arab states except for Egypt and Jordan will. if it means that Israel has to wait until everyone else drops their ridiculous demands for pre-1967 borders and the partition of Jerusalem (and the right of return), then Israel will wait. No one is going to kick them out.

[special muppet]

"The UN gave Israel to the Jews in 1948, righting a wrong that existed for centuries. Of course, they bungled the aftermath, and there have been multiple wars ever since."

This is not true. The British asked the UN to come up with a plan to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The partition resolution was passed and then Israel unilaterally declared independence. It was this declaration that provoked the 1948 Arab Israeli war.

I think that one of the most important things in working towards peace is being truthful about the facts and ending the propagation of "revisionist" versions of Israeli history.

Israel has a responsibility, morally and legally, to negotiate a peaceful solution in good faith with the Palestinians. Both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and with dignity.