Debates about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are rarely couched in optimism - indeed most discussions take on a distinctly pessimistic, even defeatist, air. Tony Klug, a Senior Middle East analyst, seeks to challenge this deep-rooted pessimism is an essay entitled, 'How Peace Broke Out in the Middle East', which is to be published by the Fabian Society. The basic premise is that one grand gesture, followed by a number of reciprocal gestures, could open the floodgates to an inexorable torrent towards a lasting two-state solution.
The essay is cleverly written from the perspective of a hypothetical future in which peace has in fact broken out. Klug's masterstroke is to trace the peace process through a sequence of imagined yet utterly plausible gestures, thereby debunking the entrenched pessimism that acts as a major obstacle to peace.
The text of the essay can be accessed on our website by following the link below:
http://fabians.org.uk/publications/freethinking/klug-middleeast-07/
Please offer you opinions and responses.
Message was edited by: The Fabian Society
Interesting link, yet I am not sure such optimism is warranted. During 50 years of Israeli occupation, there has never been much chance for peace due to the nature of the socio-economic, religious conflict. This compounded with US unbalanced policy in the region and Iran's meddling with Hezbollah shows that external forces are pulling the puppet strings. Finally, compound this with the militants in power on both sides. Fanatic Zionist settlers, an illegal occupation (all of which are deemed illegal by international law) and the voting in of the Lekud (which are militants) set the scene for voting in Hamas during a democratic election. A very democracy the US hypocritically shunted which was an act ironically contrary to US democratic values. Not surprising, since the US voted Israels war crimes 28 times in the past 9 years.
The statement 'occupation breeds violence' can't be more accurate. Political and historical analysts for the ME conflict state that the most realistic way for peace is for Israel to open bilateral takes, withdraw from the west bank, return sized funds ranging in the millions, deconstruct the illegal apartheid wall, re-open schools and hospitals in the occupied territories, carve permanent boarders and compensate Palestinians billions of dollars for the 1.5 million refugees Israel created. Then any militant reaction on the Palestinian side would be illegitimate and militants will be rained in. The ball now lies in Israels court. Israel has the upper hand and the moral obligation, the power to initiate real peace. But as long as the racist Zionist ideology dictates Israeli foreign policy, there will never be peace.
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"Growing old is mandatory. Growing wise is optional" -Anonymous
1-many are talking about how peace could be achieved between the occupier who holds all sorts of technology given to him from the only superpower country of the world and between the weakest part and partner whom are the victoms and called palestinains.
2- Iam still in vacation , it is realy amazing that i could visit my home land since more than 24 years as i was deprived of that and i prayed in al agsa mosque in jerusalem which the whole of my relatives exept one took me their as she is holding a card that she is livining in jerusalem and not other part of the occupied palestine, really amazing and i could not believe that.
3- which i saw in my visit which was very short for very few days, makes me sad and upset. eventhough my relatives who lived their for 60 years cant visit jerusalem. later i will write my experience and how i saw their suffer, the only thing i would reveal that i enter my homeland which i born their only becasue i hold a foreign passport and nothing related to my virtual identity as a palestinian and it is astonishing, that still iam the same person, peacful, ordinary, born in palestine, have relatives their and i took photos where i first born . i think peace is too far.
4- even when i travel , i want to go with ordinary palestinains to see their suffer, we are tourists, go from other place , most procedures are little easy, but of course as iam born in occupied territories and many like me and have arabic names, so their will be further questions and it is ok, but i visit my homeland at last.
5- I saw how is the defence wall swallow most of our land, my aunt want to see me, so she came from ramallah and it took her from morning tell afternoon to reach hebron from all barriers and check points and to be sure that she hold a card eventhough all her life was their and also studied before 25 years master in america, all of them are humulated in their own land. i saw kids in the bus when i travel between hebron to jerusalem to pray in al aqsa mosque, how the israeli soldier wants the kid who age is only 11 years and very innocent to withdraw from the bus as he dont hold his original birth certificate , and the driver want to let him outside alone and their were discussion between passengers especially us women, how we would let that kid to be taken and return back to hebron, while his father is waiting for him in jerusalem and he is vitually living in jerusalem, can u imagin that the discrimination become between us palestinians themselves and that of course will creat hatret and other things which is human beings.
6- peace is only in the hand of israel and superpower countries and it is their rule to deal with it and let those pepeople live in safe with dignity, what shall i say more ? it was only 3 days i spend their and then went to north america and compare how people are living their and my people in palestine, really it is shame to the whole world to be silent and keep only condeming palestinians and dont look to the root of the occupation and solve it.
Unfortunately, I also cannot see peace coming so easily although Klug's imaginary sequence of events is possible, if unlikely. There are too many factions who would wish to disrupt such a process and have the ability to do so, especially on the Palestinian side. The Israelis also have their factions but these could be controlled and isolated; this is not so, as we can see by the near civil war, on the Palestinian side. It needs the emergence of a strong leader to bring order to the Palestinians, and someone that the Israelis can trust to truly speak for all the Palestinians. And it needs an Israeli government that really feels the need to solve this problem more than it needs to give undeserved support to the lunatic fringe who have more influence in the Knesset than is warranted by their numbers. As Mrs Abdulksaida says, whilst Israel has such immense backing by an America that provides this with, seemingly, no strings attached, the military options will seem an effective approach.
Peace won't break out because there are fundamental issues to solve. Someone has to agree an equitable end-game and then plan on how to achieve it. Whilst there are significant influential Palestinians refusing to accept that Israel should exist, or saying that all jews should leave the land, and whilst the Israelis are not giving any clarity to their plans (if there are any consistent ones) it is hard to put down any extremism as not being an appropriate course of action in some people's minds. Israeli politicians have to walk a fine line defined by coalition parties; these parties have many different visions of the future for Israel, some of these agendas are visible and others not so. Their battles are political rather than physical, but battles nonetheless. And by their actions neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are giving any help to those who would prefer a peaceful route to a settlement.
Mrs Abdulksaida, I look forward to reading of your experiences of your recent travels.
mr englishman, thanks for u analysis to the situation in the conflict, but from what i saw and listen to it, really it is so difficult to grasp what is going on . Even between palestinains themselves, new struggle are established and sometimes they become spy to each other from what israel try to implant injustice and when israel liberate some prisoners all from one party and not the other, so she creates hatret and of course all know the bad intention as only to support one party.
I was sad as now the palestinians are watching each other, and beleive me now they are isolating the same people into different countries, do u imagin that a kid of 2 years living with his mother whom has a card of jerusalem and her husband living in hebron , that kid is not allowed to go with his mother to jerusalme and live their or even visit anyone thier and now she will put layer for that and if that women is not my uncle wife and her kid whom i carry him, never i will beleive even if people whom i trust told me, but unfortunately i witness it my self
only the wife of my uncle was able to accompany me to jerusalem to pray in al Aqsa mosque without her kid of 2 years, and all my relatives their envy me of how iam able to pray and they cant.
I report some as israel knows how much she will creat even discrimination between palestinians themselves and iam afraid really that will lead to civil war which will increase the suffer more and the road of peace would be more difficult.
also i'd like to say that still i find difficulties in contributing from my own computer, but now Iam writing from my brother computer at his home, so iam happy for that, it seems i have to buy a new computer or not to be lazy and take it to be formatted and cleaned all.
sorry mr englishman , i will try to post other experiences , but iam now in a hurry.
