Israel must eventually withdraw from occupied Palestinian territories

by Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh

Regardless of where one stands on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to evacuate Israeli settlers from Gaza Strip, and regardless of whether his intentions are good or bad, the act itself (the evacuation) points to a truth, a reality and an approach which the Israeli government must ultimately come to terms with and implement, if it wants to live in peace and let others live in peace as well.

At present, the peace process is at a total standstill on all tracks. Worse, there is a great deal of suspicion, animosity and violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis who, not long ago, were peace partners. These are bad times indeed for both peace making and peace building. This is why it is difficult to even talk about peace today, let alone suggest that it may materialise.

Nevertheless, if one's reading of the overall meaning of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza (as well as of the unfolding of events generally) is correct, peace will eventually materialise and prevail. One has hoped, of course, that peace would happen by choice and not force, i.e., that the parties to the Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli conflict would themselves, through honest and sustained efforts and through unselfishness and wisdom, bring about a satisfactory settlement to the conflict, assisted by the American and European peace patrons.

While such positive and assertive spirit prevailed during some short but crucial moments in the past (and yielded some significant results), one cannot hope for such spirit to emerge or prevail anytime soon.

If peace were to happen, it would have to happen by default: circumstances and the power of time would force the parties (primarily Israel, which is the mightier party in the conflict, as well as the usurper and occupier) to start doing the logical, reasonable and perhaps right thing to do.

Israel has tried all means of violence and militarism at its disposal. Such means have guaranteed Israel neither security nor peace. Violence and militarism have also failed to impose Israel's mighty will on the Palestinians - the Palestinians are as adamant as ever about their rights, and cannot be coerced to agree to Israel's demands.

Furthermore, negotiations have, for the most part, been conducted in bad faith. As such, they have not yielded the desired results. Something materialised as a result of negotiations on several fronts, of course, but on the main front (the Palestinian) it has not borne enough fruit soon enough and quickly enough for peace to have meaning.

Violence is not working; negotiations are not working. What will? Hard to say, but I would venture and say, the dictates of time; necessity per se. Time cures all, as they say, and the wheel of history turns and turns people and events with it.

For many decades, Israel has tried to follow or impose the fait-accompli strategy: impose a reality, and the Palestinians and Arabs will have to recognise it and it becomes a fact on the ground. Prior to 1967, the Arabs were asking for the rights of Palestinians to return to the territories occupied in 1948. Occupy the West Bank and Gaza and the Arabs and Palestinians will stop asking about 1948 and focus fully on 1967. Moreover, build settlements throughout the West Bank and Gaza, and the Arabs and Palestinians will start asking for the return of the territories on which there are no settlements - or you can use the settlements as a strategy of bargaining to this effect.

Events have, I believe, shown the fallacy of such thinking and such approach. More than half a century after 1948 and more than thirty seven years after 1967, the Palestinians and the Arabs are still asking for the right of return, for the evacuation of settlements, and for the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories. A careful examination of the history of the conflict will reveal an important fact: Arab and Palestinian demands are not regressing, no matter what Israel does.

A careful examination of the details of the Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli conflict reveals also that no matter what happens or gets done, we will have to go back to the basics: recognition of Palestinian and Arab rights and the termination of Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands - all lands.

This is my reading of the evacuation of the settlers from Gaza. There can be no peace unless and until aggression, occupation and injustice come to an end. What are the Israeli settlers doing in Gaza? What are they doing in the West Bank? Why does Israel continue to occupy Palestinian and Arab lands after all the UN resolutions which have asked for its withdrawal and after all the agreements which it reached with its Palestinian and Arab peace "partners"?

What should be done, now that negotiations are not working and death and destruction are not working? What should be done is simple: for Israel to withdraw from all occupied territories and to evacuate all the settlers from Gaza and the West Bank. There is no other alternative. And such withdrawal and evacuation will happen, whether Israel likes it or not.

Make no mistake about it: time and history will always have the final say. So if Israel is smart, it will take a shortcut - and spare everyone more agony, more suffering and more death.

This article was published in the Friday-Saturday, October 29-30, 2004 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.