Good news, but how long will it last?
There is good news this morning on the Israeli-Palestinian front. It seems Sharon & Abbas have agreed on a cease fire. This from ABC News:
Israel is willing to go very far and we're going to introduce today a package of
confidence-building measures, incentives, to the Palestinians so that they could
start this long journey on the road to peace," said Raanan Gissin, a top Sharon
adviser. "But there's one thing that must be made very clear … there will be no
flexibility whatsoever, no compromise whatsoever on fighting terrorism."
Gissin said that as part of Israel's halting of military operations, it would
stop its controversial targeted killing operations against wanted Palestinians,
as long as the Palestinians kept militants under control. Gissin noted Israeli
flags, flying outside the summit convention center alongside the flags of Arab
countries, calling it a sign of more hopeful times.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the summit a "beginning" and said
talks might continue in Israel as soon as Wednesday.
Perhaps I am cynical, but I have my doubts as to whether or not this latest attempt at peace can work. There is so much hatred...it will be difficult. Certainly there is one major change in this latest effort and that is the absence of Yasser Arafat. The Palestinians can put themselves on the map this time I think (literally & figuratively) if only Mahmoud Abbas turns out to be a leader for peace. Imagine if Abbas were really determined to end the violence and negotiate the Palestinian right to be a separate state that is self-determining. For one thing, it would stop the wholesale destruction of entire generations of Palestinian youth and lead to economic revival for the Palestinians. It is likely to be an uneasy peace at first, of course, as all initial measures usually are. And in this case, where peace has broken down so many times before, it will be no different. But if Abbas could really control all of the militant rabble bent on the destruction of Israel...that would really be something. Let's put it this way, it would be more deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize than some of the previous winners (coughArafatcough).
The interesting thing about real peace in the Israel - Palestinian conflict is that it would de-legitimize the Middle East's big gripe, remove the thorn from their paw, and thereby require the lion to either get with the program or prove what a beast it really is. Of course it is a legitimate gripe, I don't mean to suggest otherwise. But, so many times they have proven their disinterest in real peace...prefering to demand the destruction of Israel at any cost, including the lives of their children. This is not a reasonable position, nor is it a responsible one. What is needed is for everyone to get sick to death of the smell of blood and willing to compromise. I do not have some naive dream that peace between Israel and Palestine would rid the world of Al Qaeda. I do not believe it would because these people feed on hatred. I do think, however, that it would eventually slow the recruiting down to nearly nothing. Why?
Because peace would also lead to prosperity. Prosperity means jobs. And a steady job for all of those young men would mean they were less likely to volunteer for suicide missions, being more interested in having a family and being a part of the growing economy.
But I have my doubts. Old habits are hard to break, the animosity runs deep, and I'm not sure it serves the purposes of other Arab states to lose the Palestinian issue as their major beef.
But still, maybe someday one of these attempts at peace will actually stick.
