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Giving peace a chance
By Alexander Casella
GENEVA - The signing on
December 1 of the Geneva Initiative, a plan that even
its authors qualify as "virtual", nevertheless marks the
first realistic attempt at achieving peace between
Israel and the Palestinians since the creation of the
state of Israel in 1948. What makes the initiative
uniquely relevant are its two fundamental
characteristics; first it is a comprehensive plan
in which every detail has been ironed out and is thus
far removed from an illusionary "road map" that either
party can derail at will. Second it is a private
initiative emanating from the civil societies of both
sides, rather than the contentious outcome of a
confrontation by the constituted authorities of the two
parties, each of which has a vested interest in
prolonging the conflict.
The Geneva Initiative
is the brainchild of a Swiss academic from Geneva,
Alexis Keller. The scion of an old Genevese family,
reared in the Calvinist tradition of public service
which gave the world the Red Cross, the publicity-shy
Keller, following the collapse of the Taba negotiations
between Israelis and Palestinians in January 2001,
decided to bring together two of his friends - Israeli
Yossi Beilin, former justice minister, and Palestinian
Abed Rabbo, former minister for information.
Under the discreet aegis of the Swiss
government, Rabbo and Beilin set up two teams that began
a long process of indirect negotiation. No member of
either team had any official link either with the
Israeli government or the Palestinian authority; they
were civil leaders meeting privately in the belief that
peace is possible if one really wants it. With
Palestinians barred from Israeli territory, and Israelis
forbidden from entering territory controlled by the
Palestinian Authority, Keller, with a newly-granted
Swiss diplomatic passport, began a long shuttle between
Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv as a go-between.
As the negotiation developed, the Swiss
government made it possible for the participants to meet
discreetly outside the region. Funding for the project
initially came from Keller's father, who had been a
partner in one of Geneva's oldest private banks, Lombard
Odier. In October, after more than two years of
negotiations, the two sides agreed on a 50-page
comprehensive peace plan.
Contrary to many
previous alleged "peace plans", the Geneva Initiative is
not a declaration of principal, but a precise blueprint.
It is not a "process" or "road map" but an end product
of what real peace can look like. In the process, the
negotiators have drawn out the precise demarcation line
between Israel and a Palestinian state. The initiative
provides that Israel will dismantle most of its
settlements, including all those in Gaza, but will be
able to retain some around Jerusalem and east of Tel
Aviv. In exchange, Israel will cede some territory to
enlarge the Gaza strip.
The old city of
Jerusalem will be shared by both parties as the capital
of the two respective states, with Israel controlling
the Jewish quarter and the Temple wall and the
Palestinians controlling the Christian and Muslim
Quarters and the al-Aqsa mosque. An international force
will be based in the city to oversee the agreement. Last
but not least, both Israel and Palestine would recognize
each other's legitimacy, with the Palestinians
renouncing on the "right of return" in exchange for an
appropriate compensation.
As it stands, the
Geneva Initiative is a victory of reality. By giving up
on the right of return, the Palestinians surrendered an
intangible which stood no chance of ever seeing the
light except through the eradication of the state of
Israel. Conversely, by accepting the principal of
compensation, the Israelis acknowledged that the
Palestinians had indeed been wronged.
But more
significantly, the Geneva Initiative has completely
reversed what until now has been the accepted norm in
international negotiation. While treaties were always
negotiated at the top, the Geneva Initiative reversed
the process. Confronted with the failure of authority to
bring about peace, the initiative started as a down-up
process aiming at creating a groundswell that will force
peace. Significantly, neither the United States nor the
United Nations nor the European Union was brought into
the process. While international support for the
initiative is on the rise, its final outcome will depend
on the reactions of Arabs and Jews as hundred of
thousands of copies, in Hebrew and Arabic, are now being
randomly mailed to Israeli and Palestinian homes. That
the initiative has already been denounced by Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Hamas should comfort the
authors that they are on the right track.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for
information on our sales and syndication policies.)
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