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The Unrealistic European Peace Offensive

(BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Efraim Inbar - The Europeans have decided that the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Holy Land, now over one century long, must finally end. France has signaled its intention to bring the matter to the UN Security Council in order to delineate the parameters for conflict resolution within 18 months. European intentions may be laudable, but seem far removed from Middle Eastern realities. Ethno-religious conflicts usually end when at least one of the sides displays great weariness. But Israeli and Palestinian societies still have energies to fight for what is important to them. Europeans have difficulty understanding that peace is not necessarily the most important value for Israelis and Palestinians. As long as Hamas plays a central role in Palestinian affairs, no real Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation is possible. What happened in the Palestinian territories reflects a phenomenon widespread in the Arab world - the collapse of statist structures. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is not that different from Arab political entities such as Libya, Iraq, Syria, or Yemen, which are unable to effectively govern their territories. The writer is director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
2015-06-05 00:00:00
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