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Foreign Policy |
Where rivals are entrenched in their rigid ideological and political stance, a fresh perspective is needed. I am no different than many others who are worried by the local and international implications of the ongoing Israeli - Palestinian conflict. However, I do try to make a difference through modest contributions to the continuous efforts towards achieving peace in the region.
Click here to view my Middle East Blog
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| David Martin Abrahams |
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Conflict Management (Part-2)
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By David Martin Abrahams
Jan 07, 2010
Those who believe that real peace will prevail in the Middle East sometime in the near future are not only mistaken, but also naïve. The gap between Israel and the Palestinians remains as wide as ever and both sides now realize that they are not going to sign an historic peace accord in the coming years or decades.
But this does not mean that Israelis and Palestinians should just sit on the side and not do anything. It is time to start exploring other options, such as conflict management.
Conflict management means that the two sides would agree to disagree on all explosive issues such as Jerusalem, borders and refugees and instead shift their focus to other topics that are not less significant and that are mainly related to day-to-day life for the Palestinians. Previous attempts to touch on these sensitive issues have not only failed, but also increased tensions between the two sides.
Managing the conflict is not a bad idea, especially if it's carried out in agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. And there's good reason to believe that they can reach agreement on managing the conflict.
In fact, over the past year Israelis and Palestinians have been managing the conflict in a way that has saved the lives of many Jews and Arabs.
Managing the conflict means that Israel and the Palestinians would work to stop the violence and bloodshed.
Because of the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Israel has had to deal with each entity separately.
With Fatah in the West Bank, conflict management has focused on strengthening the economy and easing travel restrictions. As a result, most Palestinian cities there have witnessed a dramatic improvement in living conditions, something that has had a moderating effect on many people.
Israel and Fatah have yet to agree on the resumption of the peace process, but in the meantime they are talking to each other about ways of boosting the economy and easing security restrictions in the West Bank.
The two parties are not only cooperating on the economic level, but also on security matters. In recent years security coordination between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Israel has increased dramatically.
Israeli and Palestinian security officials who meet on a regular basis to discuss issues of common interest have expressed deep satisfaction with the level of coordination. Today we've reached a situation where any Israeli who enters a Palestinian city is protected by armed Palestinian policemen.
With the Gaza Strip, over the past year Israel and Hamas have had an unofficial cease-fire. Some call it a gentleman's agreement between the two sides, one that has resulted in a sharp decrease of violence and bloodshed on both sides.
Israel and Hamas are not going to recognize each other and as such it's unrealistic to talk about peace between them. But they can and should- talk about other issues that are of common interest, first and foremost security arrangements along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. As past experience has shown, the two sides are easily capable of reaching brief or long-term cease-fires.
In the context of conflict management, Israel and the Palestinians would be talking about security and economic issues, as well as day-to-day affairs of the Palestinians. Instead of talking about a peace process, the two sides would be talking about ways of alleviating the suffering of the Palestinians and ending violence. A prolonged period of calm and prosperity will even help rebuild mutual confidence, paving the way for the resumption of the peace talks.
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