Maof

December 18, 2002 х 13 Tevet 5763

The following opinion piece was written by JCPAтs Chair, Michael Bohnen and published in the Baltimore Sun on December 15, 2002.  The op-ed discusses the proposed "roadmap" for Middle East peace.  On Friday, December 20, President Bush will meet with world leaders to discuss the current situation.
WASHINGTON - Later this month, the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations plan to propose a roadmap for Middle East peace. They would be wise to heed the warning from the online service MapQuest: "When using any roadmap, it's a good idea to do a reality check."

While all parties should welcome a plan that will bring the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table, the realties suggest that the first steps in any roadmap to peace should be an end to terrorism and Palestinian political reform. When the time is ripe, a well-crafted plan could succeed, but instead of promoting peace, the current flawed draft roadmap may encourage continued Palestinian terrorism by rewarding violence.

In June, President Bush laid out his vision for an Israeli-Palestinian peace. He said that the United States will not support a Palestinian state "until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure." He called for a new Palestinian leadership, one untainted by terror and committed to living in peace with Israel.

These two elements, a dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure and a reformed Palestinian leadership, are critical. But the roadmap drafted by the Quartet, as the four are known in shorthand, would instead require Israel to redeploy its forces from Palestinian towns and refrain from taking certain defensive security measures before the Palestinians have demonstrated a commitment to fighting terror and ending incitement.

Since the Palestinians abandoned peace talks and launched their terrorist war against Israel more than two years ago, Israel has endured repeated terrorist attacks as Palestinian groups, supported by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, targeted innocent civilians for death. No concrete steps have been taken by the Palestinian Authority to stop these murderous attacks.

Mr. Bush reported to Congress recently that the Palestinians have not complied with their signed agreement with the United States and Israel. This marks the first time that a U.S. president has found the Palestinians not in compliance with the 1993 Oslo accords. Meanwhile, State Department officials also reported that the Palestinians have not fulfilled their commitment to resolve disputes through negotiations and renounce the use of violence.

Hundreds of innocent Israelis are literally the victims of the dozens of broken Palestinian security promises made during the past few years.

A realistic roadmap must prescribe a reciprocal sequence of mutual obligations. This is not merely a chicken-and-egg question, but an issue that goes to the essence of Israeli security. Israel should not be asked to stop its self-defense while a terrorist offensive proceeds unabated.

Israel stands ready to withdraw its forces from Palestinian towns and cities when terrorism stops. But real progress will not be made until there is a fundamental change in Palestinian leadership and policy.

According to the most senior U.S. official in the region, Daniel Kurtzer, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, the Palestinians are still promoting terrorism and violence. He told visiting American politicians last month that "so far the Palestinians have chosen not to eschew violence and terrorism, but in fact in the past few months in some ways there has been an intensification of suicide bombings."

As for reforming the Palestinian leadership, the record is also dismal. "Political reform has not progressed very far, and security reform - which is the second area of reform - has almost not progressed at all," Mr. Kurtzer said.

So why is the Quartet pressing Israel to trust the Palestinians to provide security for Israelis? Palestinian terror, incitement and reform should be the primary focus of the Quartet's discussions when they meet in Washington.

MapQuest warns that the user "assumes all risk of use" for its roadmaps. The Quartet would be wise to recognize that their flawed plan asks Israel to assume all the risks.

Israel remains willing to take genuine risks for peace, but only when a true partner emerges with a genuine commitment to fighting terror.
 

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