The Madrid peace conference of October 1991 did away irreversibly
with the notion of a complete and one-sided sovereignty over the
totality of Mandatory Palestine, supplanting it with the concept of
partnership between the two peoples: Palestinians and Israelis.
Thus ended a conviction that had dominated the conflict over this
land for over a century. Since then, a conflict of a different
nature has emerged, relating to the shape and size of the land to
be partitioned between the two sides, as well as to the nature of
their relationship. Such matters will certainly be settled with the
existential decisions that will be taken in the final-status
negotiations.
An independent Palestinian state is not anymore an alien concept,
rejected region ally and internationally. The right of the
Palestinian people to self¬determination over its land,
including the right to an independent state on par with other
nations, has become widely accepted. The international community
has not only recognized this right, but also believes that the
existence of a Palestinian state is vital to the promotion of
stability and normalcy in the region.
The issue of Palestinian statehood has been at the center of the
international agenda in past months as the Palestinian leadership
had been contemplating a unilateral declaration of independence on
May 4,1999. The Palestinians did well to postpone their declaration
of a state on that date, thus allowing the people in Israel to
seize a precious opportunity to sort out their own internal affairs
and to choose a government that would be likely to support the
conclusion of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the
area.
Despite the ['ositive outcome of the Israeli elections of May 17,
1999, the mechanism by which a Palestinian state alongside the
State of Israel can be established has yet to be defined. The
Palestinian people, for their part, insist on their absolute and
unquestioned right to declare their own state on their own land. In
light of this, the Israeli side is faced with two alternatives. The
first is a unilateral de facto declaration by the Palestinians of
their state, as a natural and logical outcome of the peace process
and the agreements signed between them and Israel. However, a state
established in this manner will engender a climate of tension
between the two sides and will fail to promote mutual trust with
its Israeli neighbor. The second alternative is the establishment
of a Palestinian state within the framework of quick and productive
negotiations, which will make up for the damage done to the peace
process during the last three years. Such a process will lead to
peaceful and constructive relations between the two sides, setting
the foundations for future cooperation and coordination. Indeed,
the manner in which a Palestinian state is declared will determine
the nature of the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis in
the future.
On the other hand, unilateral steps and the imposition of facts
will not profit either Palestinians or Israelis. In fact, the
complete opposite is true. Thus, on the Israeli side, the
intensification of settlement building and the expansion of
existing ones, the construction of bypass roads and the
reinforcement of the infrastructure there, the decision to embark
on the construction of the two settlements of Ras al-Amoud and
Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa), the stepping up of property takeover
in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, the plans to connect the
Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim with Jerusalem, the campaign
against Orient House, the closing down of Palestinian institutions
in Arab East Jerusalem, and the barring of elected representatives
of Palestinian Jerusalemites from entering Jerusalem - all these
are fact-creation examples which can only complicate negotiations,
rendering future solutions only more painful. Such steps will not
only bolster the enemies of ?eace, blocking any chances for a just
and permanent settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, but
will also create a highly explosive situation that threatens to
blow up in all our faces and in the region at large.
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