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Unless
Consistent Policies Are Applied, The Roadmap Will Lead Nowhere
By Jo-ana D'Balcazar
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Although the "Roadmap" for
Middle East peace targets to end the 55-year conflict between Israel
and the Arabs, it is bound to fail unless real action, not just rhetoric,
is taken to effectively stop terrorism in Gaza, Judea and Samaria—wrongly
known as the West Bank. The Roadmap prepared by the Quartet: United
states, European Union, United Nations, and Russia, is another tentative
to solve the conflict after the fruitless 2002 Saudi Peace Plan and
the failed 1993 Oslo Accords that gave fruit to the Palestinian Authority
under Yasser Arafat, who far from stopping terrorism has even increased
it with his militant groups of Al-Fatah, Tanzim, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade. How can Arab-Palestinians and Israel realistically be expected
to make peace with Israel while Arabs indoctrinate children with hatred
towards Israel, encouraging the practice of martyrdom by becoming
homicide bombers with the promise that 72 virgins are waiting for
them?
The fact is that the Quartet faces an imminent obstacle to achieving
the goal of creating a Palestinian state by 2005 as Hezbollah and
Hamas do not accept the roadmap but pursue the destruction of Israel.
The reality is that as long as Syria and other Arab countries continue
to support terrorist groups in Israel and the U.S. keeps an inconsistent
foreign policy, the roadmap will lead nowhere, just as the Oslo Accords
and the Saudi Plan because they fail to cut immediately financial
and diplomatic support for terrorists, especially within the Arab
states.
The so-called "Roadmap" outlines a three-year program divided
in three phases to bring peace by 2005. However, real effective measures
are needed for an effective roadmap which include the approval of
the Arafat Accountability Act and the Syrian Accountability Act. Both
seek to punish and have Arafat and Syria accountable, respectively,
for their continued support of terrorism. The establishment of the
new Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, (Abu Mazen) is not enough. The first
step for failure is the continuing domination of Arafat within the
Palestinian Authority. How can Abu Mazen work independently from Arafat's
influence?
Simply, he will not, as both have terrorist backgrounds, but this
time the front face will be Abu Mazen, despite his connection with
the killing of the Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympic and
his denial of the Holocaust. Does terrorism lead the Palestinian Authority
and the peace process? Again, the roadmap is leading nowhere to peace
unless consistent policies are taken to end terrorism and its state
sponsors.
The lack of cohesiveness within the Palestinian Authority is the second
step for failure to accomplish Phase 1. For instance, Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade openly challenged the "authority" of the Palestinian
Authority by ignoring the immediate call to end violence. The worst
part is that the Martyrs Brigade is part of the Palestinian Authority
itself, as an off-shoot of Al-Fatah founded by Arafat and Abu Mazen.
The terrorist group, reportedly demands the release of Nasser Awais,
the leader of the Brigade who is in an Israeli jail, as stated in
The Observer, a British newspaper.
Supposedly, in Phase I, Palestinians must declare a clear end to violence
and terrorism and take visible, real efforts to prevent attacks on
Israelis. However, just on the day of the nomination of Mahmoud Abbas
(Abu Mazen) as the new Palestinian Prime Minister and the Palestinian
Legislative Council confirmed and accepted his cabinet, a Palestinian
suicide bomber killed three Israelis and wounded 55 at a crowded Tel
Aviv nightclub. So much for a "smooth" transition welcoming
the new Palestinian leader.
The military wing of Hamas, Izzedine al Qassam and Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, which is a militant offshoot of the Palestinian Authority,
claimed responsibility for the attack. Ironically, both groups are
on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist organizations. Phase
I will not be accomplished unless all terrorist groups are immediately
stopped, including Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militia
based in Southern Lebanon, the military wing of Hamas Izzedine al
Qassam, and the militant groups of the Palestinian Authority.
The quintessential point is that if terrorism, especially homicide
bombings are not stopped, then there is no way that Phase 2 can take
place, which calls for the possibility of creating a Palestinian state
with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty and territorial
continuity. Phase II completion date is supposed to be at the end
of 2003. Therefore, if Phase II cannot be accomplished, neither will
be Phase III, which is the final agreement to settle all outstanding
issues by the end of 2005. Time tables are unrealistic as long as
the Palestinian Authority continues to support terrorism while saying
"yes" with words, but "no" with its actions or
inaction to eradicate the infrastructures of Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic
Jihad and its own Al-Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade—which claimed
responsibility for recent homicide bombings.
Also, reportedly, Abu Mazen said he will not accept an invitation
to Washington and other foreign cities until Israel gives Arafat freedom
of movement. The puzzling piece remains in the fact that Arafat -
a terrorist himself masqueraded by a diplomatic title, has not stopped
terrorism, but the own Palestinian Authority has terrorist militant
groups. Hence, is the Palestinian Authority working to stop terrorism
or to promote it? Apparently, Arafat is moving the piece of the game
while using Abu Mazen as a front.
Let us set the record clear. The Roadmap, contrary to what anti-Semite
propaganda sustains, does not call for Israel to withdraw from Judea
and Samaria, wrongly called the West Bank, and stop its settlements
while demanding Palestinians to curb violence against Israel. In reality,
according to Phase I, the Roadmap calls "Israel withdraws from
Palestinian areas occupied from September 28, 2000 and the two sides
restore the status quo that existed at that time, as security performance
and cooperation progress." The Plan also refers to "dismantles
settlement outposts erected since March 2001. Interestingly, the Oslo
Accords do not mention any restrictions on Israeli construction in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Then, following the Oslo Accords, the settlements
are legal. All peace process must clearly establish a detailed program
to avoid misunderstandings. It is no surprise why Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon made 15 objections to the roadmap with the Bush administration.
On one hand, while the U.S. is leading the international effort to
combat terrorism, it fails to accomplish it by its own foreign policy
inconsistencies. On the other hand, if the Quartet is indeed serious
to pursue peace, is imperative an immediate emphasis on demanding
the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran, and other Arab states to stop
supporting terrorism and the teaching of hatred against the Jews and
the West. Thus, children learn to hate and to die for "Allah."
Children are not only indoctrinated to hate and kill Jews, but also
Americans and Westerners. Furthermore, Palestinian schools map, do
not even show an "Israel state" but the complete area as
a "Palestinian State." Curiously, Israel also does not appear
in the official site of the Palestinian Authority.
Additionally, President George W. Bush stated in his speech of June
24, 2002, "Every nation actually committed to peace must block
the shipment of Iranian supplies to [terrorist] groups, and oppose
regimes that promote terror, like Iraq. And Syria must choose the
right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist camps and expelling
terrorist organizations." Yet, no real action has been taken
to effectively eradicate Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other
terrorist groups calling for the destruction of Israel and supported
by Syria and Iran.
Then, what is the point of the U.S. State Department in presenting
a list of states supporting terrorism if at the end, these states
including Syria and Iran, have continued their activities with impunity?
It is not only a matter of just "watching" to see whether
or not Syria carries out its promises to close terrorist offices in
Syria, as indicated by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in a May
4 interview on ABC's This Week, but to be consistent by taking actions
not just watching. To have credibility one has to be consistent, in
order to send a strong message that there is no negotiations with
terrorists and that a "terrorist is a terrorist."
Despite the UN Security Council, after 9/11, reaffirmed states to
refrain from supporting terrorist attacks on other states, it proved
to be just only a vain declaration. Sarcastically, a member of the
UN Security Council is precisely Syria, a sponsor of terrorism. For
this matter, how can Israel, the U.S., or any other country feel safe
when state sponsoring terrorism is running freely while killing civilians
through their supported terrorist attacks, especially homicide bombings?
Yet, when Israel defends itself against terrorist attacks, the world
condemns the Israeli government. The problem with U.S. foreign policy
and its credibility is the lack of consistency. The U.S. must protect
its credibility by not "negotiating or participating" with
countries or leaders who support terrorism. How can the U.S. continues
to promote a peace process when the Palestinian Authority is leading
terrorism and making almost nothing to eradicate the infrastructures
or detention of Hezbollah, Hamas, and its own Al-Fatah and Al-Aqsa
Martyr's Brigade?
Ironically, while the Palestinian Authority has advocated, financed
and rewarded terrorism against Israel and Jews, the U.S. instead of
supporting the legitimate defense of Israel by supporting the eradication
of Arab-Palestinians terrorist infrastructures, it called Israel to
refrain. The bottom line is that Israel is doing the same thing as
the U.S. "protecting its citizens against terrorist acts."
However, far from decreasing the level of violence, the Palestinian
Authority has increased it and killed the Oslo efforts for peace.
The Israelis are dismantling the homes of Hamas and Hizbollah terrorists
instead of the Palestinian Authority. Hence, consistent policies are
vital for the U.S. to keep its credibility abroad as well as within
the U.S. The dilemma is that the Palestinian Authority far from eradicating
fundamentalist terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, is still
operating from Judea and Samaria, which are wrongly referred as the
West Bank, and Gaza.
Then, how can the Israeli government relinquish its security in most
Palestinian disputed territories when the Palestinian Authority has
not demonstrated the will or the ability to ensure Israel's security?
How can the U.S. or to this effect, the "Quartet" have the
moral right to ask Israelis to diminish its own protection when the
Palestinian Authority far from stopping terrorism, promoted it with
his own militant groups. Ironically, the UN, a member of the Quartet,
negated Israel a place in the regional grouping of Middle Eastern
states, consequently, denying it the opportunity to serve on the Security
Council or other UN Bodies.
Sarcastically, Syria once even held the UN Security Council presidency.
Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East, finds more rejection
in public opinion mostly for the effective anti-Semitism attitude
promoted by Arabs through the media, the mosques, and the schools.
The U.S. did nothing to oppose the nomination of Libya to chair the
UN Commission on Human Rights, yet it does not firmly support Israel—supposedly
a U.S. ally and a democratic friend- against its unfair treatment
in the UN.
The fact is that the Palestinian Liberation Organization, now the
Palestinian Authority, under Yasser Arafat hijacked peace and the
innocence of million of Arab-Palestinians while keeping them in poverty
and injecting them hatred instead of teaching peace and to live peacefully
with Israelis. People continue to suffer and as long as terrorists
pursue the policy of homicide bombings, the Israeli government will
continue to eradicate terrorist infrastructures to protect innocent
civilians. The challenge is for Abu Mazen, or better still, the Quartet
to immediately stop this never-ending cycle.
Enough is enough. Otherwise, welcome to another period of wasted peace
process negotiations and take a seat to see how terrorists indeed
run the show and not the so-called reformed "Palestinian Authority."
Will Abu Mazzen result another Arafat promising to fight terrorism
but instead increasing it? The plain truth is that peace can not be
obtained until the Arabs openly accept the right to exist of Israel.
In the meantime, let's wait for another peace process. |
Foreign Minister David Levy (right) and
Palestinian negotiator Mahmoud Abbas confer last night at the
beginning of final-status talks at the Erez checkpoint.
Photo by: AP
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Ariel Sharon the current Israeli Prime Minister
advocates "preserving security" for Israel, even at the
cost of prolonging and escalating conflict with Palestine. Will
the U.S. force him to toe the line? |
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