"If you want, it is no fairy tale!"
-- Theodor Herzl, founder of Zionism
"You don't want? Forget it!"
--Hebrew graffiti with Herzl's picture in Tel Aviv
SEPTEMBER 10, 2015.
It has happened.
In a solemn ceremony, on a stage bedecked with Israeli and Palestinian flags,the peace treaty between Israel and Palestine has been signed.
Negotiations did not take long. The essential elements of the treaty had beenknown for a long time. The document held no real surprises.
Israel agreed to recognize the State of Palestine. The border between the twostates was based on the so-called Green Line (the pre-1967 line), but bothparties agreed on a limited exchange of territory. About 5% of the West Bank,including several "settlement blocs", were joined to Israel, inexchange for an equivalent area alongside the Gaza Strip. Both sides expressedthe wish to keep the border open for the movement of people and goods.
In Jerusalem, the Arab neighborhoods, including al-Haram al-Sharif (the TempleMount) became part of Palestine, while Jewish neighborhoods and the Western Wallstayed in Israel. The two halves of Jerusalem remained physically united under ajoint municipal authority, with equal representation.
Israel agreed to remove all settlements from the territory of Palestine.
On the refugee problem, a complex solution was found. A Committee of Truth andReconciliation (CTR) was set up to investigate the events of 1948 and 1967 whichled to the displacement of the refugees. Both sides agreed to abide by itsfindings. The CTR was composed of respected Israeli, Palestinian andinternational historians.
Israel recognized in principle the Right of Return, but both sides agreed thatonly a limited and mutually agreed-upon number would be enabled to return toIsraeli territory, while all the others would be compensated and settled in theState of Palestine or elsewhere, according to their wishes, with internationalassistance.
Another committee was appointed to see to a just distribution of the waterresources, and especially to the large-scale desalination of sea water, withinternational help, for the benefit of both sides.
After the Presidents of Israel and Palestine shook hands, all present shared ina minute of silence, in memory of all those who died in the generations-oldconflict.
The secretary of the Arab League declared the treaty to be in conformity withthe Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, and confirmed that all member states of theLeague would establish normal relations with Israel.
THE HISTORIC event was preceded by far-reaching changes on both sides.
After a long and painful rift, the new Palestinian President had succeeded inuniting the warring Palestinian factions in a rejuvenated PLO and a ProvisionalGovernment of Palestine. After some recriminations, both Hamas and Fatahsupported the treaty.
In Israel, a charismatic new leader, who enjoyed much public respect, hadsucceeded in alerting public opinion to the dangers of the ongoing state of warin a region full of missiles and weapons of mass destruction. His new party,which attracted not only leaders and members from all the discredited oldparties, but also a whole generation of young people who entered politics tobring about a change, had won a resounding election victory. The peace movement,which had long been dormant, played a major role in this upheaval.
When the two new Presidents shook hands, the whole world heaved a sigh ofrelief.
BUT THE signing of the document by the politicians was only the beginning of thestruggle. As everybody knew, a decisive confrontation between the Israeligovernment and the settlers was looming.
The settlers and their allies had spent years preparing for this test. Supportedby major elements of the army and the various ministries, they had access tolarge resources of arms and money. Many of them were determined to wage a civilwar, if it came to it.
However, when the clash came, it was much less dramatic than had been feared. Asagreed with the Palestinians, the settlers were allowed a year to leavevoluntarily in return for very generous compensation. After initial hesitation,about half of the settlers accepted the offer and actually left the occupiedterritories. The rest were demoralized by the solid support of the greatmajority of the Israeli public for the peace treaty.
In the end, actual fighting was sporadic. In the hour of crisis, Israelidemocracy stood the test and the army remained solidly loyal to the government,despite the efforts the settlers had been making for years to infiltrate theofficers' corps.
THE COMPARATIVE ease with which both governments overcame the often violentopposition in their respective countries was also due to the active support ofthe international community.
Many commentators doubted whether the peace treaty would have been possiblewithout the profound change of US policy in the Middle East. After the 2012elections, the President announced that America's basic interests demanded aneven-handed approach in order to overcome the hatred millions of Muslims feltfor America. "We shall support both Israel and Palestine in their valiantquest for peace," he declared. The pro-Israel lobby did not dare opposethis, sensing the fundamental change in American public opinion and fearing ananti-Semitic backlash.
Europe followed suit, as always.
IN ISRAEL, the public was quick to realize the practical benefits of peace. Newjoint Israeli-Arab ventures attracted large foreign investments. Following theearlier peace treaty with Syria, Israeli entrepreneurs were already busy inDamascus, making lucrative deals in a Syrian economy that was springing to newlife. The Syrians, by the way, allowed the Israeli wine industry on the GolanHeights to continue operating. "Let's go and eat Hummus in Damascus"became an Israeli slogan. And indeed, Israelis crowded the famous bazaars ofthat ancient city, turning the trip to the Syrian capital into an excitingexperience.
While Arab businessmen were filling the hotels in Tel Aviv, looking for jointventures, their Israeli counterparts were flocking to Riyadh, Baghdad, Doha andDubai. Stories of their successes filled the television news programs andeclipsed the sight of settlers trying to repeat the scenes of the Gaza"disengagement" ten years earlier.
Owing to their position between Israel and the Arab world, Palestinians becamesought-after middlemen. Former inmates of Israeli prisons, speaking excellentHebrew, were especially successful in creating business connections. So wereArab citizens of Israel, with their intimate knowledge of Israeli political andeconomic processes. Their standard of living rose steeply to about that ofJewish Israelis. Their birthrate fell, as is usual with increased prosperity.
In this atmosphere, the return of several thousand Palestinian refugees toIsrael passed almost without comment. Since the rapid growth of the Israelieconomy had attracted many Jews from abroad, the "demographic balance"hardly changed.
Politicians and economists on both sides started to raise the idea of a"Middle Eastern Union", a political, economic and securityorganization on the lines of the European Union. Others were talking of aconfederation of Israel, Palestine and Jordan, perhaps also including Lebanon,where Hizbullah was by now a well established government party.
THE ISRAELI army remained a powerful instrument for protecting the state. But asin the US and Western Europe, the best and the brightest were drawn tohigh-tech, science and business. Soon the old conflict was seen as a thing ofthe past.
In the end, the old adage that "peace is not made between governments butbetween peoples" was prove once more. Human relations, economic interestsand the passage of time completed the process that started with the formal peacetreaty.
