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The Trilemma of Power, Aid, and Peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian Context

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The Trilemma of Power, Aid, and Peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian Context THE TRILEMMA OF POWER, AID, AND PEACEBUILDING IN THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONTEXT THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE CAROL DANIEL KASBARI JUNE 2021 WWW.MEI.EDU Photo above: A view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. November 19, 2019. Photo by Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via Getty Images. On Dec. 21, 2020, the United States Congress passed the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act. The new law provides $250 million over five years to expand peace and reconciliation programs between Israelis and Palestinians as well as to support projects bolstering the Palestinian economy. This legislation is Is reconciliation the result of over a decade of advocacy by the Alliance for Middle even possible in the East Peace (ALLMEP) toward the creation of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. The legislation was advanced by context of military Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) occupation and along with Senators Chris Coons (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) when none of the and signed by former President Donald Trump. underlying causes of the conflict have The law seeks to “disrupt growing polarization and dehumanization been resolved? in the region and help lay the foundations for a genuine peace between Palestinians and Israelis” and it “requires the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish the Partnership Fund for Peace for promoting economic development in Palestine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.” Specifically, the bill directs USAID to help finance: (1) small and medium- sized 2 “Such programs are unlikely to be effective because the whole approach on which they are based is structurally flawed.” Palestinian businesses and entrepreneurs in order to promote the This is particularly evident in light of recent developments in Israel- private sector and create jobs in the Palestinian territories, and Palestine: expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah, riots in Jerusalem, and cities (2) people-to-people (P2P) peacebuilding programs that support within and beyond the green line. So far, these initiatives have reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis. According to the failed to address any of the conflict’s fundamental causes, including bill, a P2P partnership requesting support from the fund must refugees to Jerusalem, settlements, checkpoints, structural violence, include a nonprofit organization that brings Palestinians and Israelis and inequality in Israel. All of them have burst in our faces one together for reconciliation. by one. This does, however, give us an opportunity to reconsider the whole approach to peacebuilding programing in this difficult The law has been lauded by a broad array of American context. organizations, including: AIPAC, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Israel Policy Forum, J Street, and the US Approach to Peacebuilding Democratic Majority for Israel, many of which actively lobbied for its passage. And yet Palestinian officials and civil society leaders, along with Palestinian rights advocates in the United States, have Before tackling these questions, it is worth going over the various largely remained silent on the law. Why? It is not because they types of peacebuilding and some basic definitions and principles of do not support peace and reconciliation or genuine economic conflict resolution according to the existing literature. Peacebuilding development. Rather, the answer lies in a more fundamental as a concept encompasses different processes designed to alleviate question: Is reconciliation even possible in the context of military the suffering of people in conflict settings to some degree and occupation and when none of the underlying causes of the conflict create a better situation overall. There are numerous types of have been resolved? peacebuilding and reconciliation within the academic literature, with little consensus on their precise definitions. In general, the The answer to this question is multi-dimensional. It touches on both peacebuilding and conflict resolution literature tends to focus on the micro and macro levels, starting with the historical context of symmetrical conflicts without dealing with the underlying causes, the Oslo Accords while keeping an eye on the question of whether particularly in highly asymmetrical environments like Israel/ peacebuilding defined only by the power holders is sustainable Palestine. This is a matter of ongoing debate among scholars, which in this context. The following analysis draws on my academic is beyond the scope of this study. Rather, I will focus here on four background in conflict analysis and resolution, my professional types of peacebuilding, ranked from least to greatest intensity: experience advising and supervising peacebuilding programs for conflict management, conflict settlement, conflict resolution, and two decades, including as an implementer and director for two reconciliation. In conflict management, the goal is to contain a grants for the Conflict Mitigation and Management (CMM) programs violent conflict temporarily in order create a positive environment of USAID, as well as my own lived experiences as a Palestinian, through limited interactions and targeted projects and initiatives, an American, and an Israeli citizen. Based on the conflict analysis for example through dialogue and other activities involving small and resolution literature and my own experiences in the area of numbers of people representing the conflicting parties, until a more peacebuilding, such programs are unlikely to be effective because conducive environment for peacemaking emerges. For example, the whole approach on which they are based is structurally flawed in Cyprus, conflict management has successfully prevented the in two critical ways: first, because it is disconnected from local outbreak of new violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and political, social, cultural, and economic processes and expectations; their backers, Greece and Turkey, since 1974. and second, because it tends to reinforce the inequalities that sustain the conflict between the two sides while undermining the Conflict settlement is aimed at preventing or curtailing an armed declared goals of this intervention. conflict through an agreement by the political leaders representing 3 the parties to the conflict, but without necessarily addressing other identities … strong, positive relationships will mitigate root causes or underlying power dynamics. In such cases, conflict against the forces of dehumanization, stereotyping, and distancing attitudes and structural issues are not addressed, and as such that facilitate violence” and that such “projects generally bring settled agreements tend to be reopened. This would be a case like together individuals of different ethnic, religious, or political the Iran-Iraq agreement of 1975, in which leaders of the two Persian affiliations from areas of conflict. They provide opportunities for Gulf rivals agreed to settle their border dispute and end subversive adversaries to address issues, reconcile differences, promote greater infiltrations from either side. understanding and mutual trust, and work on common goals with regard to potential, ongoing, or recently ended conflict.” In contrast, in a conflict resolution process, the parties to a conflict seek to reach a sustainable peace that addresses the basic human The core assumption of this theory, however — that merely needs of both sides in a deep-rooted conflict (Burton, 1987), such bringing Palestinians and Israelis together in one place and perhaps as identity, security, acceptance, and recognition, regardless of working on matters of shared interest will significantly change the power dynamics. The denial of these basic needs is usually the perceptions or reduce prejudices of one group toward the other, underlying source of deep-rooted conflict and the grievances that regardless of their circumstances and living conditions — is highly fuel them. In such cases, the goal is to achieve peaceful relations problematic. Specifically, USAID seeks to achieve the highest level based on mutual acceptance and reciprocity, such as in the peace of peacebuilding in an environment that is far from post-conflict treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994. and in which none of the underlying sources of conflict have been addressed, much less resolved. At best, USAID programs in the Beyond conflict resolution is reconciliation, which is a transformative Israeli-Palestinian context could be seen as an attempt to manage process in which the relationship between both sides is centered the conflict with the goal of damage control through temporary on mutual legitimacy and recognition, usually in a post-conflict localized efforts for a limited number of people from the conflicting setting. The key component for reconciliation according to the parties. But without an attempt to address the root causes of literature is reaching justice (Rouhana, 2004), and not simply basic the conflict, challenge the power asymmetry, or otherwise work human needs. In the process, the root causes of the conflict, such towards creating conditions for sustainable conflict resolution, they as colonization, mass violence, occupation, human rights violations, do not qualify as credible attempts at reconciliation. Moreover, this and state oppression, are acknowledged and rectified in some way. approach could be seen by many in the conflict resolution field as Such a process usually involves political and structural changes in a
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