Judging by the speeches at last night's intimate dinner party held by US President Barack Obama for the participants in the Middle East summit in the White House, direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians began, or were renewed, on the right foot. In reality, it probably will not be like that, but the statements made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were exceptionally conciliatory, which is remarkable, considering the murderous attack near Hebron two days earlier. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas sounded less enthusiastic, but he condemned the two attacks on the West Bank in no uncertain terms.
This afternoon sees the launch of direct negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations, led by Netanyahu and Abbas, under the auspices of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at the State Department.
In his speech at the White House last night, Netanyahu stressed that he came to Washington to make a "historic compromise." He appealed directly to Abbas, saying, "President Abbas, you are my partner in peace," despite previous remarks, even a few hours before the dinner, in which the prime minister expressed doubts whether the Palestinians were indeed worthy partners.
For his part, Abbas came out with a condemnation of rare sharpness of the recent terror attacks in the West Bank: "What happened yesterday and what is happening today is also condemned. We do not want at all that any blood be shed, even one drop of blood, on the part of the Israelis or the Palestinians. We want people in the two countries to lead a normal life. We want them to live as neighbors and partners forever. Let us sign an agreement, a final agreement, for peace, and put an end to a very long period of struggle forever."
Yet Netanyahu and Abbas's body language testified that they still do not feel at ease in each other's presence.
Obama expressed cautious optimism: "This is just the beginning. We have a long road ahead, but I appreciate very much the leaders who are represented here for giving us such an excellent start. And so I am hopeful -- cautiously hopeful, but hopeful. "We are but five men. Our dinner this evening will be a small gathering around a single table. Yet when we come together, we will not be alone. We’ll be joined by the generations those who have gone before and those who will follow. Each of you are the heirs of peacemakers who dared greatly Begin and Sadat, Rabin and King Hussein - statesmen who saw the world as it was but also imagined the world as it should be. It is the shoulders of our predecessors upon which we stand. It is their work that we carry on. Now, like each of them, we must ask, do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?"
Obama said that everyone present had a different title: president, prime minister, king, but that everyone shared one title: father. "We must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath our children and grandchildren," the president said.
Netanyahu's remarks expressed what seemed, outwardly at least, a sincere desire for peace, and determination to break free of the shackles of the sterile discussions of the past. It was perhaps one of the most conciliatory speeches recently made by Netanyahu, and intended not only for Obama and Abbas, but also to prepare the ground for the Israeli public at home: the hour of decision is approaching.
He opened his remarks in Hebrew: "Shalom aleichem, peace to us all.
"I didn’t come here today to play a blame game where even the winners lose," Netanyahu said. "Everybody loses if there’s no peace. I came here to achieve a peace that will bring lasting benefit to us all. Our goal is to forge a secure and durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We don’t seek a brief interlude between two wars. We don’t seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror. We seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all. We seek a peace that will last for generations -- our generation, our children’s generation, and the next.
"I know the grief that has afflicted so many families who have lost their dearest loved ones. Only yesterday four Israelis, including a pregnant women - a pregnant woman - and another woman, a mother of six children, were brutally murdered by savage terrorists. And two hours ago, there was another terror attack. And thank God no one died. I will not let the terrorists block our path to peace, but as these events underscore once again, that peace must be anchored in security.
"But peace must also be defended against its enemies. We want the skyline of the West Bank to be dominated by apartment towers - not missiles. We want the roads of the West Bank to flow with commerce - not terrorists. And this is not a theoretic request for our people. We left Lebanon, and we got terror. We left Gaza, and we got terror once again. We want to ensure that territory we’ll concede will not be turned into a third Iranian-sponsored terror enclave armed at the heart of Israel -- and may I add, also aimed at every one of us sitting on this stage.
"But every peace begins with leaders. President Abbas, you are my partner in peace. And it is up to us, with the help of our friends, to conclude the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to afford them a new beginning. The Jewish people are not strangers in our ancestral homeland, the land of our forefathers. But we recognize that another people shares this land with us.
"There are many reasons for skepticism, but I have no doubt that peace is possible, declared the prime minister. President Abbas, we cannot erase the past, but it is within our power to change the future," Netanyahu concluded.
Abbas said that he believed a peace deal could be achieved within a year, but that he was aware of the difficulties, challenges and obstacles to be on the way. "We also reiterate our commitment to carry out all our obligations, and we call on the Israelis to carry out their obligations, including a freeze on settlements activities, which is not setting a precondition but a call to implement an agreed obligation and to end all the closure and blockade, preventing freedom of movement.
"We want a peace that will correct the historical injustice committed in 1948, and one that brings security to our people and the Israeli people. And we want peace that will give us both and the people of the region a new era where we enjoy just peace, stability, and prosperity." Turning to President Obama, Abbas added, "Our determination stems to a great extent from your willpower, Mr. President."
President Mubarak of Egypt called on Israelis to "seize the current opportunity. Do not let it slip through your fingers. Make comprehensive peace your goal. Extend your hand to meet the hand already extended in the Arab Peace Initiative." Jordan's King Abdullah said that the price of the failure of the talks would be "too high for us all." He pointed out that peace between Israel and the Palestinians would also bring peace between Israel and 57 Arab countries that support the peace initiative.
A few hours earlier Obama met separately with Netanyahu in the Oval Office for talks that lasted nearly two hours. The prime minister told members of his entourage that he and Obama "have accumulated many hours face to face, and a pretty unique dialogue has arisen between us."
The prime minister left the White House convinced that Obama understood that there was a sincere desire on the Israeli side to reach an agreement, but that it had to be based on security arrangements that were not theoretical, and that did not rely only on verbal commitments, or even contractual ones. This point was made very clear to the president.
From what is known of the private talks, it emerges that the prime minister wants to postpone discussion of the details to a later stage of the negotiations. If in the past, the parties wasted energy and political capital on secondary matters, as Netanyahu described them, it is now necessary to take on the main matters. In other words, Netanyahu is pushing to formulate a framework of principles, headed by explicit recognition of Israel's security needs. The core issues, including settlements, Jerusalem, and refugees, should be discussed later.
Predictably, the Palestinians object to this, and are demanding that in today's direct negotiations the question of a settlement freeze should be raised. It is known that the Americans are trying to formulate a compromise on this issue before the launch of negotiations.
Netanyahu listed for Obama three basic principles for a potential agreement with the Palestinians:
- Recognition: meaning an end to the conflict. Recognition that Israel is the national home of the Jewish people and that Jews can come to live in Israel freely, just as the Palestinians can live freely in a future Palestine.
- Security: Any agreement must include an answer to the problems of the infiltration of weapons and terrorists into the territory of the future Palestine.
- The historical connection of the Jewish people with Israel. "We are not strangers in this country. But we also know that two peoples live in this country."
Netanyahu raised other principles in his conversation with Obama, but preferred not to talk about them publicly at this time.
The prime minister understands that the Americans will play an important role in the direct negotiations with the Palestinians, though he refrained from elaborating, and from commenting on speculation that, after the summit, there will be a meeting every two weeks between him and Abbas, in the presence of an American representative, probably George Mitchell. The Americans will see such a commitment to continuing negotiations as an important achievement. Netanyahu's thinking is that it is impossible to reach an agreement without direct negotiations, but that a settlement will not be possible without close and deep American involvement. "We have to be realistic," he says.
Before meeting with Netanyahu, Obama expressed himself in sharp tones against the perpetrators of the attack near Hebron, and said they would not stop peace talks. He reiterated the commitment of the US to Israel's security, and expressed appreciation of the fact that Netanyahu maintained his commitment to the peace process at this difficult time
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 2, 2010
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