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Middle East Peace

"Things are looking strangely good."

By Phil Herrick

I’m trying hard not to get too excited about the peace process. It seems as though we’ve been here many times before. I remember how optimistic I was back in 2000 when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Yassir Arafat the best deal the Palestinians had seen since the creation of the Jewish State. I also remember how crushed I was when the proposal fell through and violence resumed.

Today a second Intifada has drawn the respective parties back to the table, but faces have changed in the three years since Camp David. The current cast of characters includes a hard-line Israeli general, a rookie Palestinian Prime Minister, and a U.S. President who campaigned on his reluctance to involve the United States in Middle East peace. Oh yeah, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad are as active as ever. If the stars were aligned in 2000, then they are in total chaos now.

Or are they?

The reason I have to remind myself that “I know better” is because things are looking strangely good. For starters, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a longtime supporter of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, doesn’t seem as hostile to peace as everyone thought. In a statement he made a couple of weeks ago, Sharon became the first Prime Minister in the history of Israel to admit that the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza amounts to occupation. Sharon followed up that announcement when he conceded the necessity of a contiguous Palestinian state, in effect implying the removal of his previously beloved settlements.

The rookie Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas might also prove to be more of an asset than an obstacle. The effect his fresh perspective is having on the peace process is already apparent. In a speech he made before the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Prime Minister Sharon, and President Bush, Abbas described terrorism against Israelis as not only morally wrong, but also as detrimental to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Abbas’ latter remark is crucial because it threatens the terrorist cause in a way Yassir Arafat never did. If Abbas’ rhetoric is backed up with tangible progress in negotiations, he may be able to divert support from extremists to the peace plan.

That’s not to say it’s going to be easy. I doubt anyone wishes he or she could be in Abbas’ shoes right now, and his job will only get more difficult if Sharon fails to come through on some of the promises he made in Jordan. Cynical as I am, I’ll confess that I’m crossing my fingers. The war in Iraq has made me more conscious of the consequences of war than ever before. And I think the world generally agrees with me.

Sure, everyone’s gotten a little more edgy, but they’ve also gotten a little more resolute. I’m hoping that now diplomacy will be less garnish and more meat ‘n potatoes. Maybe this time it’ll work.

— Phil Herrick is a high school senior. He will be attending Columbia University this fall.