Earlier today we published our latest edition of Settlements in Focus, "Top 5 Bogus Excuses for Opposing a Settlement Freeze." The response has been tremendous -- clearly, many many people are sick of spin and want real facts.
This response is very encouraging. Also encouraging is the experience of the past two weeks, during which I brought Hagit Ofran - the head of Peace Now's Settlement Watch and the foremost expert on West Bank settlements - and Danny Seidemann of Ir Amim - the foremost expert on everything related to Jerusalem land and settlement issues - to meeting on Capitol Hill and in the Obama Administration. From these meetings - more than 30 on the Hill and with Administration officials - it was clear: this Administration is absolutely serious about Israeli-Palestinian peace. And this Administration is resolute in its demand for a total settlement freeze. And Democrats in Congress are firmly behind President Obama.
So that's another very encouraging sign.
And here's one more: today's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It's a powerful statement, expressing hope for and commitment to Israeli-Arab peace, and making clear that if Israel takes serious steps toward peace (perhaps a settlement freeze?) the Arab world stands ready to reciprocate. It is just one more encouraging sign of the times.
JUNE 19, 2009
How to Achieve Israeli-Palestinian Peace
The outlines of the settlement are obvious.
By HOSNI MUBARAK
President Barack Obama's seminal address in Cairo marked a turning point in America's relations with the Muslim world. His message was clear and incontrovertible: It is issues of politics and policy, not a clash of values, that separate the Muslim world and America. It is the resolution of these issues that will heal the divide.
The ambitious agenda outlined by President Obama must now be followed by forward-looking steps in order to chart a new course in America's relationship with the Arab and Muslim world. I look forward to working with the president to achieve that objective.
For decades, the Arab world has been engaged in a process of intense soul-searching as to how to cope with the forces of change in its midst, including the rising expectations of a rapidly growing younger generation, the destabilizing escalation of regional conflicts, and the swelling tide of radicalism and extremism.
Egypt has long been at the forefront of confronting these challenges, whether in being the first to extend our hand for peace with Israel, addressing the dangers posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or confronting the threat of terrorism through the moderation and tolerance at the heart of our religious heritage. Through these challenges and beyond, Egypt has engaged in a process of reform that is succeeding in providing greater opportunities for our youth, more empowerment for women, as well as greater pluralism and internal debate. We openly acknowledge that this process still has a way to go in fulfilling our aspirations.
The time has come to renew our commitment to address these many challenges. Among the host of challenges before us, it is the Palestinian issue that requires the greatest urgency, given the precarious state of the peace process after years of stalemate. President Obama has shown a willingness to lead to achieve peace in the Middle East; the Arab world must reciprocate with forthright leadership of its own.
Despite the setbacks of the last few years, it is important to remember that many of the elements of a solution have already been negotiated. After nearly two decades of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations since the initiation of the Oslo peace process, many of the details of a final settlement are well known. Furthermore, the Arab Peace Initiative, adopted at the Beirut summit of 2002, provides a regional framework for such a settlement. For the first time in the history of the conflict, the Arab states unanimously committed to full normalization and security for Israel in exchange for a full withdrawal to the 1967 lines and a negotiated resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue.
The road to a final settlement will now require leadership and concerted effort from all sides. Over the last few years, Egypt has worked exhaustively to unite the Palestinian leadership in a manner that upholds their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution.
Egypt has also tried to broker a durable cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, in parallel with our mediation on a prisoner exchange. During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Egypt last month I renewed our commitment to resume these efforts.
These steps must now be joined with a serious process to negotiate a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The priority should be to resolve the permanent borders of a sovereign and territorially contiguous Palestinian state, based on the 1967 lines, as this would unlock most of the other permanent status issues, including settlements, security, water and Jerusalem.
Success of these negotiations will depend on firm commitments from both sides to uphold the credibility of the process. Israel's relentless settlement expansion, which has seriously eroded the prospects for a two-state solution, must cease, together with its closure of Gaza. For their part, the Palestinians must continue to develop their institutional capacity while overcoming their division to achieve their aspirations for statehood.
While full normalization with Israel can only result from a comprehensive settlement including the Syrian, Lebanese as well as Palestinian track, the Arab side stands ready to reciprocate serious steps towards peace undertaken by Israel.
A historic settlement is within reach, one that would give the Palestinians their state and freedom from occupation while granting Israel recognition and security to live in peace. With President Obama's reassertion of U.S. leadership in the region, a rare moment of opportunity presents itself. Egypt stands ready to seize that moment, and I am confident that the Arab world will do the same.
Mr. Mubarak is president of Egypt.
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In an analysis of Obama's Cairo speech I read in the Israeli Makor Rishon newspaper, it was pointed out that Obama is saying to the Arab/Muslim world that there is no longer any "special relationship" between Israel and the United States, that the creation of Israel was an historical accident resulting from the Holocaust and that the US committment to Israeli security is not based on any real American interests but rather due to internal American political pressure (i.e. The Jewish Lobby).
Given, this, the Israeli public is overwhelmingly tell pollsters that Obama is viewed as essentially hostile to Israel's interests. Polls also show strong support for Netanyahu's policy, opposition to settlement freezes, etc.
You can run around to all the Congressmen you want, Israel will stand on its own. Obama's stand will only harder Arab positions and Mubarak's statement is meanlingless, it is full of the same tripe that the Arabs have been pushing at the Western media for decades. Is Mubarak willing to give up the Palestinian "Right of Return"? Of course not. What is Mubarak doing to force HAMAS and FATAH back together into a unity government? Not much. So what is he offering new? Nothing, just the same terms for Israeli capitulation.
Thanks to Obama and the radicals around him, peace in the Middle East is further away than ever.
For those of you who can't understand why Avigdor Lieberman's party got so many Knesset seats in the last election, read this about the visit of the Sheikh Raed Salah to Haifa University where he preached Jihad and Jews were barred from the lecture hall (shades of Warsaw University in the 1930's):
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3733099,00.html
Hello there, In my opinion that Mubarak should go now. I'm not likely to be drawn in by his pleas that he will never run again. He cannot bend the will of the people to suit his ego.