On Sept.13, 1993, Israel and Palestine
signed a declaration recognizing the principle
of Palestine self-rule. This document, signed 25 years ago, started
the process of Israel-Palestinian peace or the Oslo peace process.
The quest for peace in the Middle East,
especially for Israel and Palestine, has long been one of the most challenging
issues in international affairs. The Oslo process, too, fails to deliver a
final settlement between Israel and Palestine on the status of Jerusalem, the West
Bank and Gaza.
It is important to review the historical
background of the Oslo peace process. After the 1973 Arab-Israel war, Israel
secured its survival in the Middle East, although its security was still
challenged by regional sub-state groups, such as Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah and
some “Islamic extremist groups” such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, Israel and some Arab states were
in the process of forging closer ties with the help of mediation from the US.
Egypt under al-Anwar Sadat decided to develop normal ties with Israel to end
its protracted warfare with the country. Washington, therefore, became a major
player in the Middle East to communicate between both Israel and Arab states.
Former US President Jimmy Carter (C) congratulates Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat (L) and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin (R) in three-way handshake on the north lawn of the White House, Washington DC, March 26, 1979. /VCG Photo
In the early 1990s, the US was interested
in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East, especially after
confrontations between Israel and Palestine had persisted for decades. The US,
Russia, EU and UN, or the “Quartet,” put forth a “Roadmap” to facilitate
negotiations between Israel and Arab world. The US also continued to be a major
power in influencing the decision-makers in various Middle East states, and
encouraged them to take bold measures to find solutions for lasting peace in
the region.
Meanwhile, the intifada, or the “revolt,”
that took place in Gaza and West Bank shocked both Israel and Palestinian
leadership. The Palestinian uprising and Israel's response shattered any hope
that a peace could be accomplished.
Palestinian leadership, led by the
Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Yasser Arafat insisted that the
assaults against Israelis were organized and launched from elsewhere, not in
Gaza or the West Bank.
PLO leadership said it was Palestinian
social activists, especially Islamic political groups, that organized the
Intifada. However, the group's authority as "representing all
Palestinians" was challenged by events in Gaza and West Bank. It was
necessary for both the Israeli government and PLO leadership to sit down and
reach an agreement to end the decades-long conflict.
Some protesters cut fences after Israeli forces' intervention in the 24th Friday of "Great March of Return" demonstration on the Gaza-Israel border, in Gaza City, Gaza on Sep. 7, 2018. /VCG Photo
When Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands on the lawn of the White House in
Washington on Sept. 13, 1993, hope returned to the prospect of peace. Some even
maintained that once the peace was constructed, the Israeli and Palestinians would
enjoy the economic prosperity, given the rich tourism and historical resources
in the Israel-Palestine area.
However, both Israel and Palestine
underestimated their pressure at home. After Israel withdrew from the West Bank
and Gaza, handing the areas over to Palestinian security forces, bombs and
attacks against Israel continued as Palestinians "retaliated" against
Israeli occupation. Israeli right-wing political and social groups also
rejected the peace process and believed Israel should continue its occupation
in this region or totally annex Palestine.
The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin by an Israeli right-wing activist in 1995, and the continuation
of the construction of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank,
suggested the fragile foundation of a potential Israel-Palestine peace.
Today, both Israel and Palestine are
totally different from what they were 25 years ago. Israeli leadership is
concerned more about ballots than anything else, while Palestine has been divided
into two entities, Hamas-controlled Gaza and Fatah-dominated West Bank, after
the Palestinian Civil War in 2006. The peace process has come to a stalemate,
and the hope of long-lasting peace between Israel and Palestine may not be
achieved in the foreseeable future.
Copy Editor/ Liang Chenglu
Editor/ Kang Sijun
Author: Wang Jin is an Adjunct Fellow at the Charhar Institute in Beijing and Research Fellow at Northwest University.
Source: CGTN, 2018-09-13
Original Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d414f7967544d7a457a6333566d54/share_p.html?from=groupmessage