This is the start of a new category which is long overdue. An abundance of noxious myths have been doing the rounds, creating a new 'revisionist' impression of the amazing events that took place in 2000 - during Camp David, the start of the Intifada, and then with the Clinton parameters. Most of what I present will be based on Dennis Ross' account of what happened. Dennis Ross was the lead US envoy to the Middle East from 1988 until 2001. No outsider put more effort into achieving peace than Dennis Ross did. He was the lead negotiator between the Israelis and the Palestinians and orchestrated almost every summit or conference that took place during the last decade.
Today, and especially since the death of Arafat, an opinion exists that the onus is on Israel to restart the peace process. This is both misguided and dangerous. To be a proponent of this deluded view, one must completely forget about Camp David and the Clinton parameters that followed. The unyielding Palestinian behaviour at Camp David, followed by their rejection of the Clinton parameters in Dec 2000 taught us that no matter how ready and willing Israel may be for compromise, it is the Palestinian leadership that will ultimately decide whether peace is possible.
Ehud Barak played the role that many today demand from Ariel Sharon. Barak accepted compromises on Jerusalem and the Jordan valley that were as dear to the Jewish people as the “right of return” is to the Palestinians.
Not only did Barak’s government accept the Clinton parameters, but he readied the Israeli public for peace. Barak released a steady stream of leaks to the media, indicating what Israel was prepared to give up on. This prepared his public for the concessions that were about to be made.
No such strategy was followed by the Palestinians. Their public was never prepared for peace and compromise. Instead Arafat indoctrinated them into a belief that they would receive all their demands. Peacemaking can never succeed in an environment dominated by mythologies and untruths. Barring an end to the incitement in the media and classrooms , the Palestinian leadership will never be able to deliver on any potential agreements.
When there is a Palestinian leadership prepared to make clear that there is a legitimate way to pursue their cause and an illegitimate way to do so peace will no longer be a dream. And even if the Israeli government is not ready for the compromises then the Israeli public will insist that they be made.
Dennis Ross describes this as one of history’s lessons. The Israelis will demand that any government respond when they believe they have a partner. They showed that with Sadat and Begin. They showed it by voting Shamir and then Netanyahu out of office replacing them with Rabin and Barak, and they showed it in response to Camp David in 2000. But the opposite will also apply. Israel needs to continue to demonstrate that the consequence of Palestinian violence will not be Israeli concessions, but increasing Israeli demands.
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