Stalling for Peace

As the deadline set forth by the Oslo Accords comes closer, both Palestinians and Israelis are under increasing pressure to resolve their differences and reach a peaceful coexistence with each other. However, reaching this point is going to be extremely difficult because both sides have over 50 years of baggage to overcome.

The thorniest issues remain to be settled: what to do with the Israeli settlements in the West Bank; what to do regarding the Palestinian refugees; and what the final status of Jerusalem will be.

None of these issues are being addressed with any certainty on the part of the Israelis other than their repeated statements that Jerusalem will be the Israeli capital and not divided. The Israelis and Palestinians do not appear willing to negotiate with each other in good faith or bargain with each other. Part of the problem stems from the asymetrical bargaining structure between the parties.

The Israelis come to the table with the land, the military forces, and searching for an intangible peace. Peace is something that you cannot put a price on, in part because you cannot determine its certainty. You cannot know whether the peace is going to last a week, a month, or years.

The Palestinians come to the table with no land (other than what they have already been granted in previous accords and land transfers), no military forces, and holding the peace card. The Israelis do not trust the Palestinians to hold their end of the bargain because they have had 50 years of not trusting the Palestinians. It is difficult to start trusting someone whom they have distrusted for such a long period of time.

Both sides know that they have to eventually come to a resolution of their differences. Both realize that they want to avoid violence. Yet neither side is truly willing to be seen as conceding to the other side's demands. Thus, we are left in a game of chicken with tremendous odds.

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