DALIT AL-CARMEL, Israel: Overall, since the breakdown of the Oslo Accords, Arab-Israeli relations have seesawed between a cold peace and limited warfare. This is largely because all the attempts to reach a resolution have been characterized by a narrow perspective and a limited language. Any attempt to shift the situation and achieve an even minimal breakthrough will mean confronting these limitations and finding ways to overcome them. I would like to argue that to date, the only plan which has the potential to lead the sides out of the impasse to a viable solution by shaping a new language and terms for negotiations is a modified version of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative (API). First though, I would like to suggest an analysis of the conflict based on a distinction between constant and variable factors—the former must be acknowledged as fact, while the latter can be subject to change. It is a constant factor in this conflict, for example, that the solution to the yearning of the Jews for a homeland of their own gave rise to the Palestinian problem. It is also a constant factor that the international community assumes that any solution to the Palestinian problem, regardless of what that may be, should not make the Jews homeless once again. Another constant factor is that the state of Israel, which for decades had denied the very existence of a Palestinian people, is coming to terms with the reality of the Palestinian issue and is realizing that this requires some solution. The fact that any resolution to the conflict will have to take place in the Middle East, which is essentially an Arab arena in terms of politics and culture, makes the Arab Peace Initiative particularly important. The strength of the API, compared to other peace initiatives, is that it addresses much more than the particulars of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the internal issues on each side and encompasses the Middle East as a whole. This all encompassing approach assumes that Israel is part of the region. It encourages a perspective that looks beyond the particulars of each individual fault line—be it the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or Syrian-Israeli conflict—and offers an overall resolution to the tensions in the region. Moreover, in its scope, it contains a vision that looks at the future of the region beyond any formal agreement. The Arab Initiative has been modified at least once. I believe that it requires another modification to expand and update its language, so that it offers an advanced formula for resolving the Palestinian and Jewish issues together. The new API should take issues back to square one of the conflict whereby the Arab states and Palestinians would recognize Israel and its right to exist, and Israel would recognize the Palestinian problem with all its ramifications, including the refugee issue. Tailoring the Arab Initiative to highlight the interconnected nature of the Palestinian, Arab and Jewish issues, and in so doing respond to each side's acute need in a profound manner, could liberate people from the perceptions and attitudes that have characterized the conflict thus far and have stood in the way of a resolution. Creating a new language which would be endorsed by all parties would allow for the production of new variable factors. For example, the concept of the right to self-determination could be based on a less absolute interpretation of the idea. Like in the former Yugoslavia, new definitions of geographical, political, national and cultural boundaries can be negotiated. Encouraging the parties in the conflict to move away from the habit of thinking tactically about how to improve their positions will be nearly impossible without a new rhetoric that transcends the current one. If Israel is offered security and legitimacy in the region, for example, this could relieve the Israeli leadership from its preoccupation with the number of missiles amassed by Hizbullah or the types of weapons smuggled through tunnels into Gaza. In return, Palestinians will be able to stop counting their dead or the hours of waiting at checkpoints. The Arabs who have failed in the past to formulate a practical and useful policy to save Palestine now have a chance to turn the API into a theoretical, linguistic and practical framework that encompasses both the Palestinian and Jewish issues, and to translate it into appropriate historical conditions that would allow all the parties to leave their guard posts without feeling that the ground is slipping from under their feet. Note: This article was written prior to the recent events. ### * Marzouq El-Halabi is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political advisor. He writes a regular column for Al-Hayat newspaper. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 03 June 2010, www.commongroundnews.org BM
