Detached from reality

It is difficult not to be dismayed by Shimon Peres’ call for a new economic order in our region and his insistence on greater investment in weaponry over diplomacy by Israel’s leaders. Espoused by Peres’ recent article in Haaretz ("Upgrading war, privatizing peace," August 31, 2006), and carried to politicians and Jewish representatives abroad, the campaign highlights a disregard for common justice and a disinterest in dialogue.

The assertion that Israel must pursue newer, more advanced weaponry to deter its enemies and to fight unconventional conflicts is an insidious one. In this newspaper, Peres reminded us that, “At one time, I had the privilege to introduce new weapons systems ... that gave Israel the deterrent capacity it still enjoys today ... I am convinced that it is possible to do so again, and for a long time”.

It seems incongruous that these words were penned by a Nobel Peace laureate and founder of the Peres Center for Peace. Could there be a less ambiguous insight into the mind-set of the current Israeli leadership?

Peres’ hypocrisy and arrogance is hurtful and exasperating to me and many of my colleagues. Referring to Israel’s recent clash with Hezbollah, Peres claims that “terrorist organizations ... prefer to hit the civilian population before trying to gain control of territories.” While nobody with an interest in peace and common humanity can accept death on either side of a conflict, Peres seems to have overlooked the fact that the overwhelming majority of Israeli casualties in the conflict were members of the military, while most of the Lebanese who died were innocent civilians. He also ignores the fact that the Israeli military regularly targets whole families in Gaza and condones the deaths of innocent bystanders in “strategic” assassinations.

Before Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas had spent almost his entire term of office pleading with the Israelis to resume peace negotiations, but to no avail. The message for Arabs in the region was clear: The Israeli administration has steadfastly refused to accept a viable peace partner, no matter who is at the helm of the PA.

There exists no agenda for peacemaking within the Israeli politico-military establishment - and why should it? Israel is quite simply above the law. No country has ever flouted numerous UN Security Council resolutions with such impunity and no country has had so many resolutions against it vetoed by the United States. In 2004, a watershed in regional history occurred when the Arab League unanimously agreed that all its members - 23 Arab nations - would establish diplomatic and economic ties with Israel if it agreed to withdraw from Palestinian lands occupied in 1967, i.e. the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. No sane person would be reproached for hoping that such a bold undertaking could bring about a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. But the offer was declined in depressing circumstances. Israeli officials and their American counterparts made some vague statements on the issue before ignoring the plan. This was at a time when Abbas’ Fatah party was in complete control of the PA. This was confirmation for many, including Israelis, that the Israeli government and its American partners have no interest in a true and just peace in Palestine.

Peres contends that “The Lebanese government, like the Palestinian Authority, lost control of its land and its armed forces ... Israel should support the struggle of Fouad Siniora’s government to be the sole territorial and military authority in his country and to support the struggle of Mahmoud Abbas for the existence of ’one regime and one gun’”.

But Peres is well aware that the PA has never had control of its borders or its water resources, let alone its land. And as for peace and security, kidnapping over 11,000 Palestinians and killing and maiming thousands more marks no bold attempt to achieve such a goal. How could starving an entire population by withholding funds and closing borders to trade and essential supplies, lead the Israeli public to expect a besieged and hungry Palestinian population to support security guarantees from an oppressor?

Peres’ vision of economic prosperity, which would support peaceful coexistence between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Lebanon seems a little blurred. The kindest thing to say about it is that it’s a curious assertion, considering the Israelis have gone out of their way to ensure the economic collapse of the West Bank and Gaza by imposing roadblocks outside every village, destroying infrastructure, closing borders to trade (except imports from Israel) and withholding tax receipts collected from Palestinians.

In the not-too-distant past, Prince Hassan of Jordan proposed an economic agreement that would inject badly needed prosperity and help foster peace. It is unthinkable that those who are starving and disenfranchised would embrace a peace process that they view as unjust and dictated to them by foreign powers. Prince Hassan understood that. By offering the masses a genuine economic opportunity to be stakeholders, a real ’peace dividend’, he believes that lasting peace becomes attainable. Acknowledging the existential needs of people is the only way to disempower the extremists.

It seems to me that Peres has become somewhat detached from reality. The Israeli army has inflicted a great deal of pain and suffering on the Palestinian people in recent years. I regret to say that the Israeli authorities can be assured that they have produced enough bitterness and hatred to last for the rest of this century. Just as the anger and violence that erupted after the Oslo agreements were a consequence of the brutality of the first intifada, so will we soon reap the fruits of the seeds of devastation and injustice being sown by Israel and its partners. One thing is certain: With Hezbollah claiming victory against the overwhelming might of the Israeli army, and with Iraq still ablaze and American soldiers dying daily, Israel and America will have a difficult time ahead if they continue with their current Middle East policies.

Malik Kabriti is president of the National Energy Research Center in Amman, Jordan