Ending 40 Years of Occupation: The Arab Peace Initiative as the Basis for a Just and Lasting Peace
Event Featuring:
Overview
The panel discussed the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based upon the Arab Peace Initiative, first proposed in March of 2002 by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah during an Arab League Summit meeting in Beirut. The question of whether the Initiative will continue to be relevant and viable given the ongoing Israeli occupation of much of the territory taken in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War was explored. The speakers also described both the current obstacles to as well as the necessary prerequisites for peace, specifically mentioning the issues of borders, refugees, and East Jerusalem.
Event Summary
Speakers:
Maen Areikat
Director-General of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department
Khaled Elgindy
Negotiations Support Unit Policy Advisor on Settlements
Issa Kassissieh
Office of the President’s Senior Policy Advisor on Foreign Relations
Zeinah Salahi
Negotiations Support Unit’s Legal Advisor on Borders
Mr. Maen Areikat opened the discussion by mentioning the upcoming 40th anniversary of the June 1967 War, noting the profound effect that this event has had on the Middle East over the past four decades. Specifically highlighted as a primary consequence of the war was the occupation by Israel of the West Bank and Gaza.
Mr. Areikat concentrated his remarks on the prospects for a lasting peace under the Arab Peace Initiative, modified several times after its original unveiling in 2002. Based upon the idea of land for peace, the plan calls for Israel's full withdrawal to its pre-June '67 borders, a mutually acceptable solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, and the normalization of relations between Israel and the 22 Arab states. Mr. Areikat urged US support for the Initiative as the best way to move forward in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ms. Zeinah Salahi continued the discussion, focusing on the prerequisites for peace and the current barriers preventing a resolution of the conflict. For Palestinians, the key to a viable peace is a viable state, which requires land, tenable borders, internal and external access, water access, continuity of territory, and a satisfactory resolution to the refugee issue. The questions of borders and territorial continuity are particularly salient due to the issue of East Jerusalem. Containing about 30% of the Palestinian economy, it is the cultural and economic hub for Palestinians, the vast majority of whom could not envision a Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital.
Ms. Salahi continued by describing numerous obstacles to peace that have been created by Israeli government policy and practices. The physical reality of continuing Israeli construction on the ground in the Palestinian territories is of particular concern, especially with regards to settlements and the notorious separation barrier. Israeli building in East Jerusalem also undermines the possibility of it becoming the capital of a future Palestinian state. Ms. Salahi indicated that Israeli refusal to discuss the question of "the right of return" for Palestinian refugees was a further barrier to ending the conflict.
Following Ms. Salahi's remarks, Mr. Issa Kassissieh elaborated on the obstacles in place in the occupied territories as well as the realities of the "situation on the ground." Mr. Kassissieh explained that Israel is imposing its own "final status" solution in Palestinian areas, a solution that precludes any negotiated, two-state resolution of the conflict. He pointed to the example of the unilateral Gaza disengagement, in which a comparatively small number of Israeli settlers were evacuated from a Palestinian territory --8,200 as compared with around 450,000 still living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem --as an example of this problem.
Another example of this is the construction of the separation barrier, which Mr. Elgindy highlighted as a project that completely ignores the Palestinians while ensuring the security and continued expansion of Israeli settlements. The special network of roads, reserved exclusively for Israeli settlers, also separates Palestinian villages from one another and further entrenches the Israeli settlements. Furthermore, since closures and Israeli-maintained checkpoints inside the West Bank disrupt Palestinian society both economically and in less quantifiable ways, the system of checkpoints in the West Bank has become an institution in the daily lives and mindsets of the Palestinian people. Only a massive reduction in the number and scope of internal closures and checkpoints in the West Bank could help reduce the strain on the Palestinian economy and people.
The panel concluded by reiterating the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative in the context of realities inside the occupied territories. The speakers emphasized that a viable and mutually beneficial peace in Palestine will only be reached once the issues of land, refugees, and East Jerusalem are discussed and resolved.
About this Event
Maen Areikat, Khaled Elgindy, Issa Kassissieh, and Zeinah Salahi offered these remarks at the Palestine Center in Washington, DC on May 14, 2007.
Speaker Details
Mr. Maen Areikat has served as Director-General of the Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) of the PLO in Ramallah since 1998, when it was headed by current Palestinian National Authority President Mr. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).
Khaled Elgindy is currently the Policy Advisor for the settlements file at the Negotiations Support Unit (NSU). In addition to this post, he is heavily involved in strategic planning and U.S. outreach efforts at the NSU. Before arriving at the NSU, Mr. Elgindy spent nine years in various political and policy-related positions both in and out of government in Washington.
Zeinah Salahi serves as a legal advisor for the borders file at the Negotiations Support Unit (NSU), as well as the coordinator for NSU's Legal/Policy Department. She was heavily involved in the efforts to coordinate Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and is also involved in efforts to ensure implementation of the November 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access.
Attributions
This event summary was written by Peter White, a current intern in MEI's publications department and a recent grad of Princeton's Near Eastern Studies Department. The summary was edited by Julie Younes, Programs Officer at MEI.
