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Understanding the Breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Lt. Col. Jonathan D.H. - The author is an IDF intelligence officer. This Jerusalem Viewpoints is based on his analysis that first appeared in Maarakhot, the IDF magazine for military affairs (in Hebrew), and received the IDF Chief of Staff's prize for military affairs writing. In the view of the PA (and of Fatah and the PLO as well), the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a political confrontation between Palestinian and Israeli entities over a specific parcel of territory, but a struggle between two civilizations which oppose each other in their basic worldviews and national aspirations. Israelis are viewed as "invaders" into a land that does not belong to them, where they have established an entity which is an alien implant within Arab and Muslim living space, and which serves as a bridgehead for "imperialism" and for Western civilization. The struggle, then, is an existential one between the Zionist enterprise and the Palestinian national enterprise. The source of legitimacy for the Oslo process is the decisions of the 12th meeting of the PNC (i.e., the "Doctrine of Stages"), which accepted a gradual liberation process but without surrendering the "armed struggle" and without conceding one inch of Palestine. The (expected) establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state in the 1967 territories is perceived as a bridgehead connecting the Palestinian diaspora to Palestine and deepening ties with the "Palestinian hinterland" within Israel (and within the Kingdom of Jordan, too). Four steps to eradicate Zionism: 1) Unite the national and Islamic forces; 2) The demographic time bomb; 3) Alliance with Israeli Palestinians; 4) Support from the Arab world. A Palestinian state will never be perceived as the ultimate fulfillment of Palestinian national aspirations. Perceiving political compromise as proof of a historic retreat of Zionism before the Palestinian national movement, and proof that the balance of power is changing in their favor, with a state the Palestinians will be in a better position to continue the struggle. The return of refugees to the State of Palestine, which will become feasible as soon as the Palestinians assume control of their border crossing points, will entail the absorption of thousands of Palestinian warriors from Fatah, Hamas, and other armed Palestinian militias in Lebanon. This additional manpower will significantly increase the order of battle within Palestinian territory. The ongoing educational campaign within the PA that emphasizes the values of the "struggle to the finish" against Zionism and the liberation of "all of Palestine" has created a compulsory legacy that delegitimizes any Palestinian initiative to seek a "historic compromise" involving two separate states in Palestine.
2002-11-11 00:00:00
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