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Time to Forget the Road Map

(The Australian) Shlomo Avineri - Many governments internationally were initially skeptical about disengagement, but realized that this is the only game in town. Among them, as well as among the Palestinians, one hears the hope that after the Gaza withdrawal it will be possible to return to the road map and to resume negotiations leading to a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a big mistake. While motivated by the best of intentions, the hope of reviving the road map is out of touch with reality. Future negotiations will have to deal with the ultimate borders between Israel and Palestine, the fate of 200,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, the status of Jerusalem, and the problem of the 1947-48 Palestinian refugees. On all these issues, the gulf between the Israeli and Palestinian positions has not narrowed since the failed negotiations at Camp David in 2000, while fear and distrust have increased. To attempt negotiations under these circumstances would not only be an exercise in futility, but also might merely deepen alienation and suspicion on both sides. Probably the only rational way to proceed would be to acknowledge that unilateral steps on both sides can still further the cause of de-escalation and ultimate reconciliation. The writer is former director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2005-08-23 00:00:00
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