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Doing the Peace Process Two Step

© lawhawk

Why is it that the Israeli government must present an advance in the peace process while going ahead and acting in a manner contrary to bringing about peaceful resolution to the conflict. This past week, Benjamin Netanyahu met with American President Clinton and publicly announced his intentions to enter negotiations with Syria in an attempt to end the conflict on Israel's Northern Border. I applaud this step, but it must be followed with actions that result in a meaningful agreement between Syria and Israel. Together, these two countries can bring about stability in the region and solve many of the vexing problems that face it including the refugee status, and water and other natural resource rights.

However, while Netanyahu was mentioning his intentions with Syria, Israeli troops were on the West Bank forcibly removing several hundred bedouins from their historical homes to make way for settlement expansion. This was further complicated with reports that Israeli troops confiscated several rock quarries for building purposes within Israel. These two events are contrary to the peace process and the Israeli Government needs to be held accountable.

It is irrelevant whether the bedouin were located on territory considered Israeli or considered Palestinian controlled. These people were there before Israel was created and will continue to live off the land, regardless of what group of people runs the country. Israel should have allowed these people to continue living there, not only as a sign of good will but as a means of improving relations with the Arab population.

The confiscation of rock quarries for Israel to use in its building industry is a problem that has many implications. Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are extremely resource poor in comparison to other regions of the world. The scarce resources that are present there need to be shared by not only Israelis, but with the Palestinians as well. A great many Palestinians live in substandard conditions and a priority should be that all Palestinians are housed in conditions similar to those experienced by Israelis. Israel's confiscation of the rock quarries may signify that Israel is unwilling to give the Palestinian Authority the ability to provide for the people it is responsible for and lead to further problems when Palestinians become discontented and potential violence flows from that discontent. In other words, this action may perpetuate the circle of violence that Israel is trying to prevent.

My suggestion to the Israeli government is to return the lands confiscated to the parties from which they were taken as a sign of good faith and enter into agreements with them to buy the materials they seek. This will not only empower Palestinians, but help them share in the so-called peace dividend.

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