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Authors: Elliott Abrams
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was to be a far more successful venture. There were three key events: the private meetings with Sharon andthen with Abbas, and then public statements. Both men said what Bush wanted to hear. For the Palestinians, there had been debate over how to react to those American drafts of what Abbas should say. As an advisor to Abbas described it,
There were two schools of thought. One school of thought that said, “You know, this is unacceptable. Let's negotiate every word, every comma, every term.” Another school of thought that said, “No. We're not going to turn this into one of these painful things – this is an opportunity to start building good rapport with the President.…[T]his is an opportunity to say, “Look, we're playing ball here.” And the latter school of thought did prevail. 19
Indeed it did. The Abbas speech did everything the White House wanted – in the key passages endorsing the two-state solution and new negotiations to reach it, renouncing terror and violence as a means of promoting Palestinian interests, and promising democratic reforms:
As we all realize, this is an important moment. A new opportunity for peace exists, an opportunity based upon President Bush's vision and the quartet's road map which we have accepted without any reservations. Our goal is two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. The process is the one of direct negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to resolve all the permanent status issues and end the occupation that began in 1967 under which Palestinians have suffered so much.
At the same time, we do not ignore the suffering of the Jews throughout history. It is time to bring all this suffering to an end.
Just as Israel must meet its responsibilities, we, the Palestinians, will fulfill our obligations for this endeavor to succeed.
We are ready to do our part. Let me be very clear: There will be no military solution for this conflict, so we repeat our renunciation and the renunciation of terrorism against the Israelis wherever they might be. Such methods are inconsistent with our religious and moral traditions and are a dangerous obstacle to the achievement of an independent sovereign state we seek. These methods also conflict with the kinds of state we wish to build based on human rights and the rule of law.
We will exert all of our efforts using all our resources to end the militarization of the intifada and we will succeed. The armed intifada must end, and we must use and resort to peaceful means in our quest to end the occupation and the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis. And to establish the Palestinian state, we emphasize our determination to implement our pledges which we have made for our people and the international community, and that is the rule of law, single political authority, weapons only in the hands of those who are in charge of upholding the law and order, and political diversity within the framework of democracy.
Our goal is clear and we will implement it firmly and without compromise: a complete end to violence and terrorism. And we will be full partners in the international war against terrorism. 20
Sharon's speech also met the mark – in its key parts he clearly endorsed Palestinian statehood and the commencement of negotiations, and even mentioned the Roadmap:
As the Prime Minister of Israel, the land which is the cradle of the Jewish people, my paramount responsibility is the security of the people of Israel and of the State of Israel.There can be no compromise with terror and Israel, together with all free nations, will continue fighting terrorism until its final defeat.
Ultimately, permanent security requires peace and permanent peace can only be obtained through security, and there is now hope of a new opportunity for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel, like others, has lent its strong support for President Bush's vision, expressed on June 24, 2002, of two states –
There were two schools of thought. One school of thought that said, “You know, this is unacceptable. Let's negotiate every word, every comma, every term.” Another school of thought that said, “No. We're not going to turn this into one of these painful things – this is an opportunity to start building good rapport with the President.…[T]his is an opportunity to say, “Look, we're playing ball here.” And the latter school of thought did prevail. 19
Indeed it did. The Abbas speech did everything the White House wanted – in the key passages endorsing the two-state solution and new negotiations to reach it, renouncing terror and violence as a means of promoting Palestinian interests, and promising democratic reforms:
As we all realize, this is an important moment. A new opportunity for peace exists, an opportunity based upon President Bush's vision and the quartet's road map which we have accepted without any reservations. Our goal is two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. The process is the one of direct negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to resolve all the permanent status issues and end the occupation that began in 1967 under which Palestinians have suffered so much.
At the same time, we do not ignore the suffering of the Jews throughout history. It is time to bring all this suffering to an end.
Just as Israel must meet its responsibilities, we, the Palestinians, will fulfill our obligations for this endeavor to succeed.
We are ready to do our part. Let me be very clear: There will be no military solution for this conflict, so we repeat our renunciation and the renunciation of terrorism against the Israelis wherever they might be. Such methods are inconsistent with our religious and moral traditions and are a dangerous obstacle to the achievement of an independent sovereign state we seek. These methods also conflict with the kinds of state we wish to build based on human rights and the rule of law.
We will exert all of our efforts using all our resources to end the militarization of the intifada and we will succeed. The armed intifada must end, and we must use and resort to peaceful means in our quest to end the occupation and the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis. And to establish the Palestinian state, we emphasize our determination to implement our pledges which we have made for our people and the international community, and that is the rule of law, single political authority, weapons only in the hands of those who are in charge of upholding the law and order, and political diversity within the framework of democracy.
Our goal is clear and we will implement it firmly and without compromise: a complete end to violence and terrorism. And we will be full partners in the international war against terrorism. 20
Sharon's speech also met the mark – in its key parts he clearly endorsed Palestinian statehood and the commencement of negotiations, and even mentioned the Roadmap:
As the Prime Minister of Israel, the land which is the cradle of the Jewish people, my paramount responsibility is the security of the people of Israel and of the State of Israel.There can be no compromise with terror and Israel, together with all free nations, will continue fighting terrorism until its final defeat.
Ultimately, permanent security requires peace and permanent peace can only be obtained through security, and there is now hope of a new opportunity for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel, like others, has lent its strong support for President Bush's vision, expressed on June 24, 2002, of two states –
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