Due to the
urgency of this piece I did not seek to have it published by a news service,
feel free to republish it and to circulate it.
The fall of Gaza
and the rise of Palestine
Gershon Baskin*
June 15, 2007
The fall of Gaza to Hamas has thrown the
Palestinian people into its worst crisis since 1967. With every crisis there
are usually new opportunities and those must be investigated and pursued, if
possible. Gaza is lost, for the time being and there is little that the
Palestinian leadership in Ramallah can do to immediately change the course of
events. The present focus must now be on the West Bank and on saving the
Palestinian people from additional unnecessary disasters and nightmares. There
is now an opportunity to contrast the horrors of Gaza with a new reality in the
West Bank that could serve as an example and focal point for positive
Palestinian energies.
The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah
should detach itself from Gaza (for the time being). If, at the same time, the
Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and East Jerusalem would issue the
following ten-point plan, a new future of promise and hope could be turned into
a reality that would be the best possible way to serve the interests of the
Palestinian people. The following is the proposed ten point plan:
-
The Palestinian leadership of the West
Bank and East Jerusalem should declare that it is their intention is to
establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
that will live in peace with all of its neighbors.
-
The Palestinian leadership in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem recognizes Israel's right to exist, adheres to all of
the agreements that have been signed between the PLO and the State of Israel
and renounces all forms of violence.
-
The Palestinian leadership in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem calls for the Government of Israel to renew permanent
status negotiations immediately that will convene with the assistance of the
Quartet and will proceed without interruption until agreements are reached and
ratified by both sides.
-
The Palestinian leadership calls on
the Government of Israel to immediately release all of the tax revenues which
are being held by Israel and to transfer them to the Palestinian treasury
account in Ramallah. The leadership calls on Israel to also release
Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank, especially those who were arrested
prior to the establishment of the Palestinian authority in 1994 and other
prisoners who state their agreement to live under the new realities in the
West Bank and East Jerusalem and are willing to live in peace with all of
their neighbors.
-
The Palestinian leadership calls on
the governments of the world to renew their diplomatic relations and financial
support for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
-
The Palestinian leadership calls on
the governments of the world to provide humanitarian support for the people of
Gaza through various international aid agencies and calls on the Government of
Israel to allow food and medical aid that will reach the people of Gaza
directly to enter Gaza.
-
The Palestinian leadership will make
preparations for new elections in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that will
be held within three months. In those elections, only political parties that
accept the recognition of Israel, adhere to previous international agreements
and commitments, support democracy and renounce violence will be allow to
participate in the elections.
-
Recognizing the mistakes of the past,
the Palestinian leadership is immediately implementing a plan to unite all
Palestinian security forces into one singular force under the direct command
of the political echelon. The number of troops will be greatly reduced so that
the new government will focus its attention on development, building the new
state, education, health and welfare. The law of holding unauthorized arms
will be strictly enforced and the first task of the Palestinian security force
will be to collect unauthorized arms. The Palestinian government, with the
assistance of foreign governments will engage in an aggressive public campaign
to collect arms, through public media and education and through the
enforcement of the law.
-
In accordance with the peace directive
of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, all forms
of incitement against peace and against Israel will be prohibited. The
government of Palestine will immediately advance programs of educational
reform that will introduce education for peace with Israel at all grade levels
and in all schools. This campaign will include the public owned media as well
and will prove without any doubt that the people of Palestine are determined
to make peace.
-
The actions of the Palestinian
leadership in the West Bank and East Jerusalem will seek to create a new
reality in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that will serve as the primary
inspiration to the Palestinian people of Gaza to overthrow the Hamas
government in Gaza and to once again unite the Palestinian people and lands so
that eventually the Palestinian state to be established in the West Bank and
East Jerusalem will include Gaza as well.
With such a platform placed on the table
by the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel should
immediately respond in accordance with the Palestinian requests: release tax
revenues, release prisoners, reopen full diplomatic relations including
permanent status negotiaitons, assist in the creation of a new security reality
by removing checkpoints and road closures throughout the West Bank and even
declare that Israel will freeze the further construction of the security barrier
pending future assessment. Israel should make all efforts to assist in the
creation of new promise and hopes for the people of Palestine and for the people
of Israel.
Public opinion research on the Israeli
public recently conducted by IPCRI has clearly demonstrated that if the Israeli
public truly believed that the Palestinians were sincerely interested in peace,
they would be willing to make the concessions necessary to secure a peace
agreement with the Palestinians. The most convincing action that Palestinians
could take that would convince the Israelis, according to the research, is the
adoption of peace education in schools and in the media. For Israelis, that is
a true reflection of the values of the society and such a program would
demonstrate to the Israeli people and to the international community that the
Palestinian people are ready for peace. Israel would have to respond swiftly and
with sincere intent that would strengthen the commitment for peace amongst
Israelis and Palestinians alike.
The alternative to the above proposal is
only more disasters and suffering for all Palestinians and for all Israelis. The
recent events are far from the best scenario and from a Palestinian perspective
represent a colossal tragedy. The Palestinian leadership has reached a new
crossroad – and they must make a choice in which direction to lead. There are
always more than two alternatives, but those alternatives lead either in the
direction of hope and peace or towards more despair and suffering. Leadership is
about making tough decisions. Crises provide opportunities for real change and
this is the time for change.
* Gershon Baskin is the Israeli Co-CEO
of IPCRI – the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information.
www.ipcri.org