No.48 August-September,1991
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The Other Israel Newsletter of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace August-September 1991 No 48 P.O.B.956 Tel-Aviv, Israel 61008 Editorial Board: Uri Avnery, Matti Peled, Yaakov Phone/fax: (03) 5565804 Arnon, Haim Bar'am, Yael Lotan, Yossi Amitay Editor: Adam Keller – ISSN 0792-4615 – Assistant editor: Beate Zilversmidt THE TRAIN TO DAMASCUS The following editorial was written before the coup Gulf war brought a generous reward: American d'etat in the Soviet union. It now seems, with the return acquiescence in the imposition of Syrian hegemony to office of President Gorbachev, that Soviet foreign over Lebanon, as well as large cash subsidies from policy will remain essentially unchanged, and therefore Saudi Arabia. Syrian participation in the peace the conclusions drawn here are still valid. conference would consolidate Assad's American After months of strenuous diplomatic efforts, U.S. alliance, and hold out the prospect of Israeli Secretary of State James Baker seems to have withdrawal from the Syrian Golan Heights, occupied produced, at last, some tangible results. since 1967. At the Moscow Summit, President Bush even felt For Yitzchak Shamir – heading Israel's most right- that the time was ripe to announce solemnly the wing nationalist government ever – the American convening of a Middle East Peace Conference in proposals presented a difficult dilemma. Any October, under the auspices of himself and of his succesful peace process would inevitably involve Soviet colleague. Bush made the announcement with territorial concessions. For months, Shamir hedged the knowledge that all but one of the prospective about details and employed delaying tactics – at participants had already given their consent. which he is an incomparable expert. However, no It had not been so difficult to get the support of the Israeli Prime Minister could afford to openly defy traditional Americam allies in the Arab World: the President of the United States. Shamir received Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. And for dire warnings, from American Jewish leaders and Jordan every opportunity was welcome to repair its from some of the most friendly senators, with regard relationship with the U.S. – severely damaged by the to the possible consequences of definitely rejecting Gulf war. the proposed conference. Baker's key acquisition, however, was Syrian Thus, Shamir finally gave a highly qualified "Yes" president Hafez El-Assad, who – since the Iraqi to Baker, compromising on some of his procedural army's decimation – controls the largest military in sticking points. For example, he agreed to have a the Arab world. Since the end of the cold war, Assad U.N. observer present at the proceedings – though – long allied with the Soviet Union – has drawn he refused to have the international organization's closer to Washington. Syrian participation in the auspices for the conference. Yes to conditions upon aid! The following is the text of an advertisement published in Ha'aretz and the Jerusalem Post, July 3. The Prime Minister is opposed to the American loan guarantees being made conditional upon Israel openly reflects the calling off further settlement activities in the Occupied Territories. He pretends that this position sentiment of the Israeli society. He argues that such a condition is tantamount to foreign interference with Israel's internal affairs. The opposite is true. Guaranteeing billions of dollars to the Israeli government without making such guarantees conditional upon cessation of settlement activities amounts to a repudiation of all chances to reach a peaceful settlement, which alone would guarantee Israel's future and security. be Not subjecting the loan guarantees to such a condition would mean that more billions of dollars would channeled to further finance the settlements rather than to integrating the Soviet immigrants – for whose well-being the guarantees are requested. Refraining from making the guarantees conditional upon cessation of settlement activities would be a direct interference of the U.S. administration in Israel's internal affairs. We call upon the Israeli public to oppose Shamir's position and explicitly demand that such a condition be attached to the American loan guarantees so that the money will not flow into the settlements, each one of which constitutes an obstacle on the road to peace. The Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace 2 Despite earlier predictions, this decision did not, so West Bank is officially designated). Some recent far, shake Shamir's coalition. The parties of the Shamir statements lend additional credence to this extreme right did threaten to leave the government theory (Hadashot, August 2). and deprive Shamir of his parliamentary majority. It is not known whether Assad, for his part, is This threat was, however, fast withdrawn after the considering such a deal with Shamir. There is no love opposition Labour Party offered to give its backing to lost between Assad and Arafat – but the Syrian Shamir, "as long as he moves towards peace". The president's prestige in the Arab World would soar extreme rightists decided, reluctantly, to stay in for considerably higher, if he could present himself as the the time being – in the (not entirely unfounded) saviour of the Palestinians. Nor did Bush and Baker expectation that Shamir might succeed in torpedoing clearly define the scope of the Middle East settlement the conference once the territorial issue is seriously they mean to broker. placed on the agenda. A "Syrian Camp David" may have some positive effects – it would further bolster the principle of An Israeli song, written in the 1950s, begins with the "peace in return for territory", and – for some years words When peace will be, we'll take the train to at least – a large-scale clash between regular armies Damascus. Indeed, there used to be a train from would become extremely unlikely. There would be no Haifa to Damascus. Since 1948 this railway connection end, however, to small-scale armed clashes and has remained abandoned and rusting. The Israeli- confrontations. Already, there is an increased use of Syrian border (whose location was changed several firearms by Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, times by war) continues to be a front line, with mighty many of whom express their distrust of the ongoing armies poised on both sides. The only Israelis to visit diplomatic game by replacing stones with guns and Damascus in the past 43 years were either brought grenades. there as prisoners of war, or came on secret missions with forged papers. But now that Assad as well as Shamir succeeded in imposing humiliating terms Shamir decided to participate in the peace conference, upon the Palestinians; he failed, however, in his people start to realize that Syria is there, just across prime objective – to exclude the PLO from the the border. A Tel-Aviv magazine already published a negotiating process. On the contrary: the Americans, map of Damascus – plus some advise for Israeli in order to obtain any kind of Palestinian participation travellers who may visit the city one day (Ha'ir, at their conference, must deal with the PLO. Feisal August 17).* Husseini and Hanan Ashrawi, Baker's Palestinian Israeli settlers on the Golan heights – who for many interlocutors, make no secret of their close coordination years felt secure because of the 1981 annexation law, with the PLO's Tunis headquarters. which declared the Golan to be an integral part of To bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table, Israel – are now becoming apprehensive. Their the United States will have to offer them some leaders started to mobilize a parliamentary lobby guarantees with regard to the future of the Occupied against withdrawal. However, there is dissention Territories, which will offset – at least to some among the Golan settlers themselves – who are, as a degree – the humiliating terms offered for their whole, less ideologically motivated than those on the participation. And among such guarantees, the most West Bank. ** immediate one must concern the issue of continuing Israeli settlement activity. Many observers, trying to predict Yitzchak Shamir's A few days after delivering its "Yes" to Baker, the future strategy, believe that he may be trying to Shamir government established a new settlement achieve a separate peace with Syria – to return the named "Eshkolot" in the south part of the West Golan Heights in return for a tacit Syrian acquiescence Bank. This was not done by oversight – as Defence in continued Israeli rule over the West Bank and minister Arens made clear on Israeli television, this Gaza Strip. Such a scheme – similar to Menachem action was taken to demonstrate ongoing government Begin's strategy at Camp David – would fit in with policy. The minister also firmly rejected Saudi the traditional Likud ideology, which relegates the Arabia's offer to drop the trade boycott against Golan to a secondary role in comparison with the Israel, in return for a settlement freeze. Biblically -hallowed "Judea and Samaria" (as the The constantly expanding settlements are the most The Other Israel, P.O.B.956, Tel-Aviv 61008, Israel; Phone/fax: (03) 5565804 Yearly subscription rates: Institutions $50; Individuals $30; Students/unempl.$15. Receipts on request only! Please send a subscription to: Name: .................. Address: ................................................................ I enclose the sum of : $.... , or: I can't afford above sums, therefore I send $.... (or equivalent In other currency) France, Belgium, Switzerland: Jacqueline Grobety, B.P. 345-16, 75767 Paris Cedex 16, France A French translation of selected articles is available. Austria, West Germany: lsraei-Palästina Komitee, John Bunzl, Biberstr.8/20, 1010 Wien/Austria The Netherlands: Uitgeverij Cypres, Heemraadschapslaan 33, 1181 TZ Amstelveen, Holland; Phone (020) 6410388 Japan: Misako Sono, 1-18-15-205 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo 156, Japan. The U.S.: America-Israel Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (AICIPP), 4816 Cornell Ave., Downers Grove IL 60515, U.S.A.