Now even a former US president is saying that Israel is a racist state, writes Ibrahim Nafie In his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, former US President Jimmy Carter calls for a lasting peace in the Middle East. Peace, he says, cannot materialise so long as Israel continues to violate UN resolutions, disregard the Roadmap plan, occupy Arab land, and oppress the Palestinians. Carter maintains that the absence of peace is due to Israel's belligerence and the inability of US administrations to give adequate attention to the conflict. He advises US leaders to make peace in Palestine a top priority. Israel's reliance on force will not achieve peace, security or stability. Regardless of how powerful Israel gets, of how massive its stockpiles of weapons may be, and of how solid its US military and political backing is, Israel will not be able to defeat the Arabs, the former US president said in his book, published last November by Simon and Schuster. Carter discusses many issues that most US politicians try to avoid. For example, he sees the anger in Arab streets as a reaction to Israeli's belligerent policies that are backed by the US. Armed groups, such as Hamas and Hizbullah, are now popular among the Arab public because they are the ones challenging US-Israeli hegemony. The former US president says that there are reasons for optimism. For example, Arab countries are willing to accept a comprehensive and just peace agreement with Israel. Carter refers in this regard to the Beirut Arab summit initiative of 2002. The main problem in the Middle East is Israel's racist policies and its continual aggression against the Palestinian people. People in the region are convinced that the US is unfairly biased towards Israel. The fact that Israel is trying to place the Palestinians in Bantustans, just as the apartheid authorities did in South Africa, is not helping. There are two obstacles facing the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace: first, some Israelis believe they have the right to continue confiscating and occupying Palestinian land; second, some Palestinians believe that those who carry out suicide bomb attacks are martyrs and that the killing of Israelis is justified. Military solutions are doomed. This, Carter says, is something that Israeli leaders need to understand. By the same token, those who believe that Israel can be destroyed by force must give up their illusions. The only way forward is through negotiations. The former US president warns of letting the Middle East conflict fester, for it could undermine the security of the region, and the world. The US has enough strings to pull, Carter says. Actually, it is the only country that can bring the conflict to an end. If the region cannot find peace, it's because the Americans are not trying hard enough. Carter offers some advice: first, Washington should prove to regional powers that it is acting on good faith and not taking sides; second, it should strongly oppose Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land and its building of settlements. The former US president says that a Palestinian state needs to be created on the land Israel occupied in 1967. Any border changes will have to be approved through negotiations. Until this is done, Carter calls on Israel to stop killing, oppressing and humiliating the Palestinians. Israel, he says, should respect the Palestinians' right of self- determination, legal protection, and for a peaceful life. Carter's book comes out at a crucial moment and offers an objective assessment of the situation in the region. It encapsulates the vision of a man who dedicated his life to justice, equality and self-determination. It is my wish that the book be given the attention it deserves by Arab policymakers and think tanks.
