With U.S. influence in the region at the highest point it has
been at for years, President Bush makes an ambitious venture into
Middle East peacemaking today by taking on an issue that has been a
thorn in the side of the international community for 55 years.
Still riding the wake of a victory in Iraq, Bush will meet
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan to discuss the internationally-crafted
“road map” which seeks to resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Written by the United States, the European Union, the United
Nations and Russia, the road map lays out a series of steps for
Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to take,
with the ultimate goal of creating an independent Palestinian state
by 2005.
But while the Bush administration is optimistic about success,
and though both Sharon and Abbas have embraced the plan, the UCLA
community has largely greeted the road map with skepticism, hopeful
for peace but unsure of whether or not the road map can get
there.
“I don’t know if the road map can succeed,”
said Robbie Hurwitz, a member of Bruins for Israel and a UCLA
alumnus who will be attending the UCLA law school in the fall.
“I don’t think a document can change the passions
surrounding the issue.”
Hurwitz, like many others, feels the road map is important in
that it restarted dialogue between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, but it is vague on controversial issues like
settlements and refugees.
“I think it leaves too much to be decided later, a factor
that lead to the downfall of the Oslo Accords,” he said,
referring to the peace process negotiated by former president Bill
Clinton in 1993.
Ultimately, the Oslo Accords collapsed and the Palestinians rose
against the Israelis in the Intifada, or uprising. The Intifada has
lasted for 32 months now and has killed over 750 Israelis and over
2,000 Palestinians.
Ehaab Zubi, a fourth-year psychobiology student whose parents
are both Palestinian, agreed the road map would ultimately
fail.
“Anything that doesn’t address key issues such as
Right of Return or Jerusalem is basically doomed to failure because
of the mentality of the groups you’re negotiating
with,” he said. “You’re going to have radical
factions on both sides that will work against it and I don’t
think there’s any way to muffle them.”
Jennifer Dekel, a fourth-year communication studies student who
studied in Israel through the Education Abroad Program last year,
called the chances of the road map fostering peace
“naive.”
“We’ve been struggling with the Arab-Israeli
conflict for 55 years and peace has not been achieved. I do not
believe that within five years, Israelis and Palestinians will
achieve peace,” she said.
Dekel ““ who, like Hurwitz, decided to remain in Israel
even after the EAP program was closed ““ said she feels Abbas
is a weak leader for the Palestinian Authority. In her opinion, the
Palestinians need a strong leader who will get rid of all terrorist
organizations in the West Bank and who genuinely respects
Israel’s right to exist.
“Once they have a leader like that, I will support peace
with the Palestinians. As of right now, I don’t think peace
is a viable option,” she said.
Abbas has expressed willingness to crack down on the radical
Islamic terrorist organizations that carry out attacks on Israelis,
such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas, but it is unclear how he plans to
do so and how successful he will be.
However, others at UCLA feel the road map can reconcile Israelis
and Palestinians in a peace process.
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, director of UCLA Hillel, called the
road map “a wonderful opportunity” and an important
paradigm shift from the perspectives of both the Israelis and the
Palestinians.
“I’m hopeful … every time there’s a move of
this sort, it brings us closer. This is a gradual process. Even
though previous efforts have failed, they were
transformative,” he said.
However, Seidler-Feller added that the road map may be more
useful in providing a direction toward peace, not as the actual
answer.
Steven Spiegel, a political science professor, called the road
map “a real advance” and “the first serious
effort for a breakthrough we’ve had in the last two
years.”
But Spiegel cautioned that success is far from guaranteed.
“It provides a guide, it doesn’t provide the
pavement for the road,” he said.
In order for the road map to succeed, Spiegel said the United
States must remain heavily involved in the negotiation process,
especially since Israel trusts the United States more than the
European Union or the United Nations, and because the Palestinians
rely on the United States to persuade Israel to make
concessions.
On Tuesday, in what Bush called “a moment of
promise” for peace, Arab leaders from Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Jordan, Bahrain and the Palestinian Authority met with Bush to
endorse the road map and pledge to help end the violence against
Israel.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said, “We will use all
the power of the law to prevent support reaching illegal
organizations, including terrorist groups.”
“We support the determination of the Palestinian Authority
to fulfill its responsibilities to end violence and to restore law
and order,” Mubarak added while Abbas looked on.
Abbas was expected to pledge to stop the “military
intefadah” and had hoped to secure a cease-fire with militant
groups before the summit.
A high-ranking Saudi official said the next move was up to
Israel, and called for a halt to the use of force against
Palestinians, the release of humanitarian aid and an end to work
restrictions. Those steps would help Abbas “show that his way
is the way to change the lives of the Palestinians and not the way
of the gun,” said the official who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Sharon had said he likely would commit Israel to dismantling
settlement outposts set up in violation of Israeli law.
In a goodwill gesture Tuesday, Israel released about 100
Palestinian prisoners, one of whom has been convicted of killing 13
Israelis.
Sharon will issue a statement accepting the principle of a
Palestinian state, an Israeli official said. Abbas will also
recognize Israel’s right to exist side by side with a
Palestinian state, Palestinian officials said.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.