US President Bush’s announcement that the road map to a Middle East peace is still extant and in fact will be published once a Palestinian prime minister takes power is surprising, but welcome. Only last week, the administration decided not to put forth the road map until after the crisis with Iraq was resolved. Ironically, though, the administration has come under more pressure to adopt and publish the plan as the likelihood of a war with Iraq has increased.
The plan, if it is carried out to the letter, is for the most part, to the advantage of the Palestinians, for it says a Palestinian state will be created. In the first of its three phases, Palestinians would carry out government reforms and crack down on militants; Israel would put a freeze on Jewish settlement building and withdraw from Palestinian towns occupied since September 2000. Israel would then recognize a Palestinian state in temporary borders by the end of this year. Negotiations on full statehood would come in stage three, with completion in 2005.
In his address, Bush said the US would adhere to the road map, signaling that he would push for the plan’s implementation without any changes. This is significant because it means the United States will not support changes, even if those changes come from Israel.
However, Israel has disputed some parts of the plan, saying moving from stage to stage must depend on whether the Palestinians meet their commitments — which they have. As for Israel, since the start of fighting 30 months ago, it has occupied most West Bank towns and villages and staged raids in the Gaza Strip, another potential stumbling block in phase one of the plan. Another obstacle is that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, while promising to halt new Jewish settlement activity, has said existing settlements will be developed. Bush said Friday that for peace to take root, settlement activity had to be stopped. Some obstacles which had existed in phase one have been dealt with. The Palestinian Authority has started reforming finances and is working on approving the appointment of a prime minister. The Palestinian Legislative Council is expected to decide later this week whether to approve Yasser Arafat’s choice of Mahmud Abbas, an executive in the PLO, for the new position.
While Bush’s announcement is promising, some have voiced suspicion over its timing. Bush and his administration have been accused of putting Middle East peace talks on the back burner while focusing on efforts to disarm Iraq. To that end, the White House has dismissed suggestions that Bush was speaking up on the Middle East to win support in the UN Security Council for another resolution on Iraq. It said the president was addressing the conflict because of recent developments involving both parties: The elections in Israel and the advent of a new Palestinian prime minister.
However, it is no secret that the timing of the announcement has more to do with shoring up Arab support in advance of a possible war with Iraq, though some argue that it makes little difference why Bush announced the rebirth of the road map. What matters, they claim, is that he did so.
But there is a difference. Is this a plan for a peace that will last or is this a temporary arrangement designed to placate the Arab world ahead of war?
