Obviously, the way to move peace forward in this part of the world is with more olive branches and fewer bombs. But in the occupied territories, conditions are still not ripe for peace. Israeli military censors restrict the Palestinian press. Entire Arab communities are punished by curfews. Thousands of activists are in Israeli jails. I myself was arrested earlier this year. Like other Palestinian activists, I was never given a trial or really told of any charges -against me. It was only on the radio that I heard the Israelis were accusing me of “Spying” for Iraq. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli deputy foreign minister, even accused me publicly of operating an espionage ring. It was ludicrous. But putting Palestinians in jail is an effective way for Israel to silence moderate Palestinian voices. You can’t urge reconciliation and compromise from jail.
Some Israeli officials fear the voice of Palestinian pragmatism. When the Israelis could depict us as extremists, we posed little effective threat to their creeping annexation in the occupied territories. But Palestinians are starting to speak from a calculus of interest. The emotionalism that made it impossible for us to accept the l947 U.N. partition of Palestine or autonomy under Camp David is still there, but it’s under control. We still cling to street slogans. But we’ve come a long way since the 1920s and 1930s, when Arab villagers with rifles would collect on the Jenin hilltops thinking they could lay siege to Haifa and force out the British Navy. Now we’re adjusting to the real world.
Still, we will approach the next round of discussions from an angle opposite Israel’s. I personally favor the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as the capital, but with Jerusalem as a united city. Any interim regime should lead to eventual Palestinian independence within a specified time framework; thus far, the Israelis view interim autonomy merely as a means of keeping the occupied territories. If a Palestinian interim authority is going to have any legitimacy, it must have power to repeal confiscation of Arab land, to prevent new Jewish settlements, to control zoning decisions in our towns and cities. In a future Palestinian entity, it should not be illegal for Jews to hold land. But Jews there would have to live under Palestinian law. I expect, however, that during an interim autonomy period, most Jewish settlers would get the message and would be encouraged to move back to Israel.
Wherever the talks lead, the Palestine Liberation Organization will be a necessary part of it. It was a PLO decision of three weeks ago that cleared the way for the Palestinian delegation. Whether or not the Americans choose to resume their dialogue with the PLO, there will be a recognition that it’s really not possible to move forward without an organization that acts as a common denominator for Palestinians everywhere.
I don’t really expect the present Israeli government will make concessions in the first year of negotiations, even if it comes under international pressure, because it’s constitutionally unable to do so. But when the Israelis vote in the next year, I hope they will be presented with a clear choice: either peace in exchange for concessions or the status quo.
