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Middle East Peace Process: Background and Issues
Michael Ong
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group
The belated redeployment of Israeli troops from Hebron on 19 January
1997 signifies that the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians
is still on track. There was general pessimism among observers that, with
the election of the new right wing Likud government in 1996, the process
might stall-in spite of the fact that it was a Likud government which
achieved peace between Israel and Egypt in 1979.
Origins of Conflict
The establishment of Israel by the United Nations in 1948 was rejected
by the Arab states who saw it as an usurpation of Arab land and tried,
without success, to claim it back militarily. After five wars (1948-9;1956-7;1967;1968-70;73-4)
and the invasion (1982-5) of Lebanon by Israel, sporadic violence and
many diplomatic attempts to find a settlement, peace remains elusive.
An absence of trust and refusal to compromise appear to remain the major
factors for failure.
Occupied Territories
As a result of the 1967 war, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, which was
part of Egypt; the West Bank of the River Jordan, formerly administered
by Jordan but renounced by it in 1988; and the Syrian Golan Heights. Following
the 1982 invasion, with a weak ally the Christian Southern Lebanese Army,
it occupied Southern Lebanon. In the last two, Israel, on grounds of its
security has also annexed part of the territories contrary to United Nations
Security Council resolutions and international law. Arab East Jerusalem
has also been annexed (1967). Jewish settlements with 130,000 settlers
have also been established through the expropriation of land in the territories.
The Palestinian uprising (Intifada) which pitted 'children armed with
stones against soldiers armed with guns' began in 1987 and posed major
security, economic and moral problems for Israelis.
Madrid Conference
On occasions the United States, though a major ally of Israel, has tried
to be the honest broker between the two sides with varying success.
The current peace process, under the auspices of the United States and
the former Soviet Union, began in Madrid (1991) following the Gulf War.
It was attended by the major parties and included bilateral and multilateral
talks. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), though excluded, was
in reality represented by Palestinians from the occupied territories who
formed part of the Jordanian delegation. Little progress was made until
1993.
Declaration of Principles (DOP)
Following secret and direct talks in Oslo, in 1993 Israel and the PLO
announced a DOP: a peace agreement outlining a six year plan for Palestinian
self-rule in the territories. Israel recognised the PLO (which agreed
to amend reference in its Charter to the destruction of Israel) as representing
the Palestinians. The DOP is the realisation of the Israeli Labour Party's
'Land for Peace' approach under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It provided
for a gradual withdrawal by Israel from major Palestinian towns and election
of a Palestinian authority. The Likud Party, which advocates a 'Greater
Israel' to include biblical lands in the West Bank, bitterly opposed the
DOP. Parliamentary approval was won 61-50 with 9 abstentions. Groups within
the PLO and some Arab states also opposed the DOP as a sellout by Chairman
Arafat. The violent actions of groups and individual oppositionists, including
mass killings and suicide bus bombings against innocent civilians and
the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin by a Jewish fanatic in November
1995, have delayed implementations and suspended negotiations. However,
tangible progress has also been achieved on border crossings between Israel
and the autonomous areas and on withdrawal from part of Gaza except areas
(40%) which contain Jewish settlements and other towns. A Jordanian-Israeli
peace treaty was signed in 1994 and Israeli relations with several Arab
states have also improved.
Israeli Elections May 1996
The terms and speed of the implementation of the DOP dominated the elections,
dividing Israeli society almost evenly. Under a new electoral system,
the Prime Minister was elected directly for the first time. The two major
parties, Labour and Likud, both lost ground to a range of small and religious
parties. Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, who campaigned on 'Peace with Security',
won with the narrowest of margins. He was supported by the Right, some
of whom had accused Rabin of being a 'traitor'. Labour's Shimon Peres
(Rabin's successor) was seen, in some quarters, as being soft on security
in his desire to achieve peace. This was heightened by suicide bus bombings
in February and March. Peres responded with the closure of Gaza and the
West Bank and took strong actions against Palestinian extremists, including
those living abroad, which contributed to the vicious cycle of violence.
Ironically, with Labour winning the largest number (34 to 32 Likud) of
the 120 seats, Peres would have become the Prime Minister under the old
electoral system.
The New Likud Government
The Likud alliance had stated during the election campaign that it would
never agree to an independent Palestinian state. Netanyahu however had
said he would honour agreements made by the Labour government but would
never meet Arafat, who was elected President of the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) in January 1996 as part of the DOP. Netanyahu's policies,
excluded both the creation of an independent state and withdrawal from
de facto sovereignty of the Syrian Golan Heights. The agreed Israeli redeployment
from Hebron, which was to have taken place in March 1996, before the elections,
was further postponed. The Arab summit (June) responded by stating that
the withdrawal from all occupied territories by Israel was a basic condition
for a comprehensive peace settlement. Several government decisions including
approval of new controversial housing for Jewish settlements in the West
Bank and the opening of the Hasmonean tunnel which ran beneath the Al
Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, resulted in violent confrontations between
Palestinian authorities, civilians and Israeli security forces in late
September. These decisions were perceived by Palestinians as evidence
that Netanyahu was not keen to proceed with the peace process. Following
international pressures and the intervention of the United States, Israel
agreed to resume negotiations on Hebron in October and an agreement was
signed on 15 January 1997 with the United States undertaking to ensure
that both sides fulfil their commitments.
Post Hebron
With the Agreement (approved by 87-17 in the Knesset), the PNA has full
control over the 7 main towns (3 per cent of land) and limited powers
in another 24 per cent, while the rest of the West Bank, including Jewish
settlements, remain under Israel control. The Israeli withdrawal from
other rural areas of the West Bank will begin in three stages from March
7.
Netanyahu, despite ensuring security for Jewish settlers, has been denounced
by his right wing supporters over the Hebron deal, and has stated that
he would like to negotiate the final status with the PLO as soon as possible.
Outstanding issues, which are much harder to negotiate, include the future
of Jerusalem (which both parties claim as their capital and all Israeli
leaders pledge to keep), the return of Palestinian refugees and permanent
status of the PNA. The decision in late February 1997 to approve 6,500
new homes for Jews in East Jerusalem is likely to result in violence and
to further delay the peace process.
Comprehensive Peace
The future of the peace process will depend on agreements with other
Arab states, particularly Syria. Syria, apart from seeking to recover
its Golan Heights, also exerts strong influence (with 35,000 troops) in
Lebanon and has given succour to radical PLO oppositionist groups. Within
Israel, the debate on the costs of occupying south Lebanon (vividly illustrated
by the 73 military fatalities in the helicopter accident in February 1997)
against the Iranian-supported Hizbollah is increasing. It is likely that
any settlement with Syria will involve gradual Israeli withdrawal from
the Golan Heights with a permanent international peace keeping force in
place until mutual trust can be established. This will be linked to Syrian
control over the Hizbollah to secure Israel's northern borders. At the
same time, until extremists elements can be checked by all parties, sporadic
violence will continue before peace can be achieved.
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