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Progress with the Palestinians: Doing What Is Doable

[bitterlemons.org] Uzi Arad - Progress with the Palestinians can be accomplished only within that space that realistically allows for it. To seek progress beyond what is feasible would be an exercise in futility; not to seize opportunities wherever these present themselves would be equally wrong. This practical approach stands in contrast to the recent ambitious, indeed blatantly impossible, effort to accomplish a final status agreement within a year. By all accounts, the political terrain is simply not ripe for closure on a final status agreement. When it comes to Jerusalem, the very thought of taking a city that is currently united and amputating any part of it as a throwback to the long defunct status quo ante would be a severe failure of imagination as well as contrary to the Israeli and Jewish ethos. As for the refugees issue, not only should there be zero Palestinian return to Israel, but it is also necessary that the principle of fairness be applied when compensation is considered. Just as Arab Palestinians could be compensated, so should Jewish refugees from Arab lands. Political dialogue should certainly continue between Palestinians and Israelis because there are a number of issues pertaining to civilian or even security areas which need to be addressed and improved. Institution-building within the PA should be encouraged and the role of the PA's law enforcement and police forces should be further advanced. However, it is only realistic to assume that the burden of security responsibility to fight terror would remain in Israeli hands. The single most urgent and important area that necessitates progress is neither the Palestinian nor the Syrian track, but that of neutralizing the Iranian threat. The more menacing Iran is, the stronger its surrogates, Hamas and Hizbullah, and the more distant the possibility of peacefully resolving Arab-Israel issues. The writer, director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC, Herzliya, served for many years in the Mossad, where his last position was director of intelligence.
2008-11-26 01:00:00
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