Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Olmert are reported to be engaged in secret negotiations. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has just agreed in principle to take part in President Bush s Middle East Peace conference, currently scheduled for this November. These are momentous developments, and show that the time for peace may truly have begun. When Tony Blair as the Quartet s new envoy, and Shimon Peres as Israel s new President, met last week in Jerusalem, Peres said, "I feel there is a serious window of opportunity to advance peace. I don't know the duration of this opportunity, I am afraid it is not too long. Mahmoud Abbas told us George Bush has personally promised the Palestinian leader, that he will push hard for a peace agreement, before Bush leaves office in January 2009. The opportunity must be seized with all hands. Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit and his Jordanian counterpart helpfully rushed off to Israel to encourage its consideration of the Arab League s Saudi peace initiative. Much has been written in the Arab press recently about attitudes towards Messrs. Blair and Bush, who are seen by many as partis pris for Israel; and much about Mr Abbas difficulties in representing the Palestinian people, after recent clashes with Hamas. But almost nothing has been written about the Peres factor. Yet in the short time he has been in office, Peres has already shown he is likely to be by far the most active president in Israel s history. Is this good for the Palestinians? Is this good for Egypt? Peres has repeatedly sought to persuade his own people to recognize the right of the Palestinians to self-determination. Through the Oslo process of the 1990s, he took bold steps to implement that right. It is difficult for many to understand that Peres has been seeking for two decades to remedy injustices to the Palestinians. But he has. The BBC has written, Shimon Peres has long been the Israeli political establishment s loudest and most determined advocate of peace with the Palestinians. This is true. Indeed just before his inauguration as President, he told the Associated Press that Israel must return occupied territories, and was immediately lashed by the right wing for saying so. Indeed, Peres has said recently that no politician has been so heavily criticized in the history of Israel over so long a period as he has. Israel will never return all the territories, for strategic, demographic and religious reasons, but Peres will do what he can to ensure that the overwhelming majority of the territories, especially the heavily populated Palestinian areas, are given over to the Palestinians in the best interests of both peoples. And Peres won t be a poodle of the next Israeli premiers, whether they be Barak, Netanyahu, or whoever. Peres is his own man. President Mubarak personally welcomed Peres election. He told the Israeli press, During the problem of Taba, he adopted the question of arbitration as we agreed. He led us to avoid a clash that could have happened at any time and approved the arbitration question. I appreciate him because he fulfilled his promises. He is a man of peace and has many ideas on development and cooperation. President Mubarak s words show that Peres is appreciated in Cairo. And the sentiment is reciprocated. Peres has said, President Mubarak and his government would like to do whatever they can on their side to bring an end to the vicious cycle of violence and the beginning of the era of peace. Both Presidents know they can trust each other and work together. This is a prerequisite for genuine progress in peace negotiations. Peres possesses unrivalled experience in Israel and the world over, and so is well-positioned to be a peace-fixer. Twice Prime Minister, he has also served prominently as defense, foreign and finance minister. Prior to that, as a protégé of the first Premier and founding father Ben-Gurion, he had served as the youngest ever Director General at the Defense Ministry, where he established strategic alliances with France (and with us Britons in 1956 over Suez.) They helped keep Israel alive, when it was a small fledgling state. He made Israel a nuclear power, to ensure its long-term survival. But like Rabin, he moved towards the Peace Camp. In the beginning, he was a hawk, associated with the combative Premier Ben-Gurion and General Moshe Dayan, and a supporter of West bank settlements. Today he is a dove, the leading exponent of the idea that peace can be won through economic alliance with the Palestinians and Israel's other Arab neighbors (as Germany successfully forged such alliances with its former enemies after WWII.). Many Arabs understandably baulk at his vision of a New Middle East, fearing that he wishes to conquer Arab countries with finance instead of tanks. But this is paranoia. He sincerely wants peace with the Arabs, if on Israel s terms. But all peace-makers seek to negotiate the best terms for their own side. Peres is no different. And his arguing for the necessity of territorial concessions has jeopardized his own life. The far-right in Israel have prayed for his death, as they did for Rabin s. His pursuit of peace is genuine and courageous. By nature a socialist, he nonetheless changed parties a number of times, causing ill-will to his colleagues. He moved with Ben-Gurion from Mapai to Rafi, but returned to his Map'ai colleagues later, when both parties joined together in the Ma arakh Alignment, later calling itself the Labour Party. On losing its leadership to the wholly inexperienced Amir Peretz (who has just been forced to resign, after a disastrous term as Defence Minister), Peres joined Ariel Sharon in their new Kadima Party. Peres has been attacked by fellow leaders over the years, who accused him of undermining their positions, especially of trying to bring down Yitzchak Shamir s premiership through the London Agreement with the late King Hussein of Jordan, and of trying to take over from Yitzchak Rabin, with whom he was reconciled, just before Rabin s assassination. Peres received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, together with Rabin and Yasser Arafat in recognition of their courageous work together that ended in the Oslo Peace Process. In his speech of acceptance, Peres began I am pleased to be receiving this prize together with Yitzchak Rabin, with whom I have laboured for long years for the defense of our country, and with whom I now labour together in the cause of peace. Ben-Gurion taught Peres that "you can overcome obstacles by dint of faith. He will need a lot of this, as Israelis believe enemies crowd around them: Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas. Peres says he dreams of "a Middle East that is not a killing field, but a field of creativity and growth. The dream seems distant, but progress has been made with Egypt, Jordan and part of the PLO/Fatah, the last two, when he was Foreign Minister. Bush needs a successful peace process between the Palestinians and Israel to offset the disaster of Iraq. Perhaps a real push by Bush now can make a real difference. Many Egyptians understandably do not forgive his military operations against fellow Arabs, but all Israeli defense ministers and PMs have been involved in such actions. As long as Israel is under threat of attack, it will strike, whatever the rights and wrongs. The Israeli army s bombardment of Qanaa in Lebanon, while he was Premier, for which he apologized, cost him the Arab vote in Prime Ministerial elections against Netanyahu. Ironically, Peres had launched Netanyahu s career, when as Foreign minister, he had appointed him as Israel s Ambassador to the UN. Under Israeli Constitutional Law, the President's prerogatives are largely ceremonial, but do include pardon and amnesty of prisoners. Peres has already authorised the release of over 250 Palestinian prisoners. They are a small fraction of those President Abbas is asking for, but 250 is a good start. Peres is laready far more activist than his predecessors. He is speaking on War and Peace today, with the support of the Governement. But tomorrow, he may meet Palestinian and other Arab leaders against the will of the government, if he thinks it necessary. Both Egypt and the Palestinians have reason to be pleased that it is Peres, rather than another Israeli, who is the President next door. He is 83 now, and will be 90 when his term ends. But no one, friend or foe, should underestimate Shimon Peres hand, stretched out in Peace. Arab statesmen would be prudent to grab it now, in case tomorrow is too late. Andrew M Rosemarine is a GB-based international attorney, an Oxford law graduate, and former fellow of The Harry S. Truman Institute for Peace. This commentary was published in DAILY NEWS EGYPT with his permission. Email him at [email protected]
