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Encountering Peace: From Oslo, Back To Oslo

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  • Encountering Peace: From Oslo, Back To Oslo

    ENCOUNTERING PEACE: FROM OSLO, BACK TO OSLO
    By Gershon Baskin

    Jerusalem Post
    Sept 16 2008

    September 13 marked 15 years since the gala signing celebration of
    the first Oslo agreement on the White House lawn. It certainly was a
    day of hope. Fifteen years later hardly a mention of the anniversary
    was made in the local or the international press - on both sides of
    the Green Line.

    Oslo was a failed peace process, and not only in the minds of Israelis;
    most Palestinians also share the assessment. The reasons for the
    failure are many, and there are many people who own responsibility for
    Oslo's tragic fate. It is very easy for one side to place the blame on
    the doorstep of the other, but in truth, the failure of the process
    has its roots on both sides as well as among various international
    actors, including the US. Much has been written on what went wrong
    and on who is to blame; this is not another one of those articles.

    DESPITE WHAT many people believe or would like to believe or perhaps
    even hope, Oslo is not yet dead and the chances for Israeli-Palestinian
    peace have not totally faded away. If and when the possibility of peace
    does fade away, the Palestinian people will no longer be calling for
    an independent Palestinian state in the June 4, 1967 borders, they
    will be calling for democracy and "one-person one-vote" between the
    river and the sea. When and if that happens, we will begin to witness
    the beginning of a new era which I would call "the era of the demise
    of the Zionist enterprise." I only hope that our leaders and their
    leaders will have to wisdom and the sanity to prevent us from jumping
    off the brink into that abyss.

    The only way to prevent the next round of violence, which will signal
    the beginning of the end of the two-state solution, is to reach an
    agreement as soon as possible. It may not be possible before the end
    of the Bush administration, but the parties should already indicate
    their commitment to go beyond that deadline into the beginning of the
    next US administration. Both sides will have to make concessions on
    fundamentals, crossing lines that were painted "red" for them in the
    past. There is a package deal that can be reached and agreed upon.

    The Palestinian state will have to be established on about 96
    percent-97% of the West Bank and all of Gaza (once the political
    regime there changes). Israel will have to give up most of the West
    Bank, including the "Ariel finger," and should consider accepting a
    fair monetary price from the Palestinians for Ma'aleh Adumim - two
    areas that take up huge tracks of land in the West Bank. Most of the
    settlers will be able to remain in the areas where they live today.

    The parties have already accepted the principle of a 50-50 split of
    the "no-man's" land areas alongside of the Green Line. Finding 3%-4%
    of land inside of the Green Line for a swap is not so problematic. The
    Palestinians already understand and are willing to wait a period of
    at least five years for Israel to vacate all of the settlements that
    will be transferred to them. They are also ready to offer citizenship
    to settlers who may wish to remain within their state.

    PART OF the package includes recognizing that Jerusalem will be
    the capital of both countries. The Palestinian capital will be in
    the Palestinian parts of east Jerusalem and Israel's capital will
    remain in west Jerusalem. The Palestinians understand that the Jewish
    neighborhoods within the municipal boundaries that were built after
    1967 will remain under Israeli sovereignty. They account for about 1%
    of the West Bank.

    The Old City will be shared under a special regime, perhaps with
    international involvement, or through the division of sovereignty
    within its walls. The Palestinians will have sovereignty over
    the Muslim, Christian and Armenian Quarters and Israel will
    have sovereignty over the Jewish Quarter. The Jewish Quarter is
    already physically separated from the other quarters by internal
    checkpoints. The Palestinians will have sovereignty or guardianship
    over the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and Israel will have sovereignty
    or guardianship over the Western Wall. Both sides will agree not to
    dig, excavate, renovate or construct anything on, around or underneath
    the "Holy Compound" without mutual agreement.

    All of the mainstream rabbinic authorities agree that no Jew should
    enter the area of the Temple Mount until the messiah comes. Until
    that time, the Temple Mount will be turned over the Palestinians de
    jure instead of just de facto as now. When the messiah comes, we can
    all agree to place the issue of sovereignty in his/her hands.

    Both sides will guarantee the right of access and prayer at holy places
    within their sovereign areas for members of the relevant faiths from
    the other state.

    PALESTINIAN REFUGEES will go home to the state of
    Palestine. Perhaps Israel will accept some humanitarian cases of
    family reunification. There will be financial compensation available
    for all Palestinian refugees for real property loss claims and for
    suffering. The State of Israel will participate in an international
    fund for that purpose.

    Palestinians and Israelis will recognize the Jewishness of Israel
    and the Palestinianess of Palestine. Both sides will agree to ensure
    the equal rights and opportunities for minorities within their
    state. Palestinian Israeli citizens will remain within the State of
    Israel, as part of their birthright and Jewish citizens of Palestine
    will be welcome to remain within the Palestinian state as long as
    they wish.

    It may take years to implement the agreement. Everything will depend
    on the security situation. Both sides will end up agreeing to an
    international force being stationed within the Palestinian state for
    an agreed designated period. That force will be composed of and led
    by European nations.

    It is quite clear that both sides will have to allow their people to
    vote for the agreement - for it to be ratified by the people.

    Fifteen years have passed since that hopeful day on the White House
    lawn. We are no longer drunk with hope. We are much more sober about
    our difficult reality and the fact that there are still too many
    fanatics out there who would prefer mutual destruction to making
    compromises and concessions for peace. So far those fanatics have won,
    and in their winning they have transformed the Israeli-Palestinian
    relationship into a "lose-lose" unbreakable embrace. The chance of a
    "win-win" mutual liberation is still possible - but the price will
    be no less than what is written above. There is simply no other way -
    either we both win, or we both lose.

    The writer is the co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research
    and Information.
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