|
By Ira Sharkansky
 JERUSALEM—Both the West Bank and Gaza have been quiet. An occasional rocket has come from Gaza to land harmlessly; there have been roadside explosives planted near the fence, and some firefights along the border. Several Israeli soldiers have been punished for falling asleep on guard duty.
Activities on the West Bank have been small scale and mostly unsuccessful, judged to be the actions of enraged or unstable individuals not connected with organizations.
There has been more violence between Palestinians organizations, and more Israelis have suffered from crime, family violence, and traffic accidents.
Is it time for Israel to be more generous with the Palestinians?
The IDF has deactivated a number of road blocks in the West Bank, and has lessened its nighttime incursions to the cities.
As I was writing this note, a police helicopter has been circling over French Hill and Isaweea. Either there are reports of something afoot, or the police know I'm writing and want to keep me from moving too far left.
There has been no dramatic increase in food or medicines let through the blockade of Gaza. Israel has agreed to some building supplies for reconstruction, but is pondering how to assure that they go to worthy projects and not the reconstruction of Hamas bunkers. There have been only occasional attacks on the network of tunnels used to smuggle consumer goods and deadlier stuff from Egypt. When a rocket comes to Israel the air force bombs a few tunnels.
There is an impasse over the Israeli prisoner, as well as Hamas' persistent calls for Israel's destruction. No official or humanitarian organization has seen Gilad Shalit since he was captured three years ago. Israelis have to rely on Jimmy Carter and Hosni Mubarak, who have heard from Palestinians that Shalit is alive and well. Hamas is steadfast in its demand for the release of some 1,400 prisoners, many of them found guilty of numerous murders and sentenced to multiple life sentences. Israel has indicated its willingness to release hundreds, but balks at the specifics on Hamas' list.
An impediment to significant movement between Israel and the Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas is Abbas' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. This goes along with his continued insistence on the right of return for refugees and their families, and may signify a deeper unwillingness to recognize Israel as a permanent fixture in the Middle East.
Americans and others are demanding a gesture from Israel to get things moving, namely the freeze of settlement activity.
The Americans have requested some gestures from Saudi
Go to the top of right column
|
|
Arabia and other Arab countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
The settlement freeze will be difficult for the current government to accept, and would be even more difficult to implement. It is not only a matter of Varda's curtains and settlers who add on a room without a building permit. There are thousands of dwellings, with permits, in the planning or construction stages. There are also hundreds of young people who haul in trailers or erect shacks whenever the government moves against a settlement.
The Saudis and others have rejected American requests for gestures. They may still buy things quietly from Israeli companies, but reject an open break with the fiction of Arab unity.
Looking at basics instead of details, Palestinians and other Arabs are limited by internal problems, and the weight of anti-Israel rhetoric they have employed for more than 60 years.
Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank arrest one another's activists and occasionally kill them. Neither can appear to accommodate Israel without being accused of heresy.
Those who want a gesture from Israel overlook Israelis' frustrations at trying to reach an accord, plus the likelihood that an agreement with a Fatah government will be worthless as long as Hamas remains in control of Gaza and is close to control in the West Bank. There are a sizable number of Israelis willing to compromise on significant issues, but fewer who expect anything to happen. The current government tilts to the right, and has a commanding majority in the Knesset.
Israelis hear from Western diplomats that Palestinians, including spokesmen of Hamas, say they are willing to make peace with Israel. They also hear current sound bites, in Arabic, from the same Palestinians, ranting about Israel and the Jews.
We can leave aside the shouting from crazies on the right that Barack Obama is a Muslim anti-Semite, and crazies on the left that Israel is missing yet another opportunity to make peace. The simple conclusion of many Israeli citizens and most policymakers is that Palestinians are not ready, and show no signs of being ready in the future.
One should never say "never." However, "not now" is appropriate.
Why the pressure from American and European governments? There may be no better reason than their fascination with Biblical images of rescuing the Holy Land by beating swords into plowshares. There are naive hopes to placate all those Muslims by pressing Israel, and the ease of sending emissaries who like the work. American and European leaders may hope to distract attention from problems closer to home, or problems more serious in the region from Iraq to Pakistan.
The real action is further east. Israel is quiet, and hopes to remain so.
|
|
