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... f the Oslo Accords, a new spirit was felt in Gaza as it came under Arab administration. Where Israelis had patrolled, Palestinian police now kept order, and there was a building boom. In opinion polls, 70 % of Palestinians supported the peace process.
However, there were also disappointments. Millions of dollars had been promised in international development funds, but little money was actually arriving and the Palestinian government often proved ineffective. Oslo had promised change and possible Palestinian statehood, but 90 % of the West Bank was still in Israeli hands, making the Palestinian goal of statehood distant. (Finkelstein, p. 120) For months, Israel had pursued Yehia Ayyash, a Hamas member who orchestrated at least seven suicide bombings that killed fifty-five Israelis. A telephone bomb assassinated Ayyash; an act attributed to the Israeli secret service, the Mossad.
His death sparked rage and fury throughout the West Bank, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad promised revenge and violent retribution. In the week between February 25 and March 3, 1996, three Israeli buses and a busy industrial centre were blown up by suicide bombers. Sixty people were killed and over a hundred and fifty injured. Islamic militants had found their moment to act to destroy the peace process.
Israeli soldiers, fearful of more attacks, sealed the borders of the West Bank and Gaza, causing anger among the Arabs. On the Israeli side, the turbulence and bombings caused a resurgence of the anti-peace forces. ("Israel Mourns Bombing Victims") Shimon Peres, Rabin's successor, called for national elections in June. The horrific events of that spring would have major consequences for the entire region. The appeal of the Oslo Accord lay in its promise of peace and security for Israel. Hamas, as an opponent of the peace process understood this well.
When security is the main issue, bombs in buses make devastating negative arguments. Many Israelis, enraged by the terrorist attacks, began thinking the way that the terrorists wanted them to think. The Israelis saw Arafat as unwilling or unable to control the violence and felt that the Labour government was unable to guarantee their personal security. Instead of moving towards peace, it seemed as if they were moving towards disaster. ("Days of Reckoning", p. 34 - 34) Campaigns for the Israeli elections called for in June 1995 focused on the issues of peace and security, and whether to continue with the peace process or to slow it down. Prime Minister Peres argued for continuing Rabin's policy. An intense believer in the Oslo Accord, he stressed the advantages of peace and the dangers of yielding to terrorist inspired fears.
Confronting him was the new leader of the right-wing Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had served in the top army battle unit, and had later acted as Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. He was distrustful of Arafat, and opposed to the idea of a Palestinian state. He argued that a slow down of the Oslo Accord could end Palestinian violence and guarantee Israeli security. In an extremely close election, Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister by a manager of one half of 1 %. ("Israel Mourns Bombing Victims") Among those who had voted for Netanyahu were the Israeli settlers and the religious right wing. Because of the small margin of Netanyahu's victory, their support was crucial to him, and most were opposed to Oslo.
The peace process could proceed only with Netanyahu's backing, but his actions were ambivalent. This was most evident in Hebron, where a promised Israeli withdrawal was delayed for months. Hebron has long been a centre of controversy, with Arabs remembering the murders committed by Baruch Goldstein, and Israelis are still haunted by the massacre of Jews during a Hamas bus-hijacking in 1979. Today, Hebron is a divided city, with 500 Jews clinging to their ancient heritage in the town, among the populations of 125 000 Palestinian inhabitants. After months of delay, Netanyahu finally gave the order to withdraw from three-quarters of the city, but safeguard the Jewish remnants. The Jewish settlers still remain despite Arab disapproval. ("Israel Mourns Bombing Victims") The Oslo Accord calls for a final agreement in May 1998 on matters such as boundaries, new settlements, and refugees.
It has been agreed that the complex problem of Jerusalem can wait until the final settlement stage, but that date is drawing close. ('Chronology of PLO-Israel Peace Moves") Jerusalem is a city sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Called the City of Peace, national ambitions and religious traditions have collided there throughout the centuries. From 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was a divided city, with Jews in the West and Arabs in the East. Barriers and a no-man's land separated the two. In June 1967, the Israeli's captured Eastern Jerusalem in the Six Day Way. Jews once again had access to their holiest; the Western Wall of the Second Temple, and Jerusalem was declared the eternal capital of the Jewish State.
Palestinians are equally determined that the East of the city becomes the capital of an independent Arab state. Jerusalem has a deep spiritual meaning for Muslims, as it was from the site of the Dome of the Rock that Mohammed is believed to have ascended to Heaven. (Peres, p. 171 - 172) The proximity of the two faiths fighting for Jerusalem has made for confrontation. In September 1996, the opening of a tunnel near the Dome of the Rock, lead to Palestinian anger throughout Jerusalem and the West Bank. Under the Oslo Accord, Israel had agreed to the arming of Palestinian police, but those weapons were turned back against Israelis. In three days of bloody confrontation, more than sixty Israelis were killed along with sixteen Arabs.
The partnership forged in Oslo was shattered by conflict. In an atmosphere of increasing bitterness, President Clinton and King Hussein tried to mediate the damage. Progress would require trust between the Israelis and Palestinians. ("Chronology of Bombing Attacks Following September 1993 Accord") In early 1997, the Israeli government permitted construction of a Jewish settlement in the South of Jerusalem. Arabs saw this as a direct threat to their hopes for a capital.
Confrontation became the norm. In Hebron, Jews and Arabs once again faced each other in the angry streets. In a crowded Jerusalem market, another suicide bombing took fourteen lives, and wounded more than a hundred people. This attack was only that of many that has claimed the lives of over 250 Israelis and wounded more than 500 since the signing of the Accord in September 1993. ("Chronology of Bombing Attacks Following September 1993 Accord) By the summer of 1997, negotiations between the two sides had come to a halt, and American and foreign initiatives to restart them proved very difficult. In an atmosphere of mistrust, positions hardened. ("U. S.
Envoy Organizes Top Israeli, PLO Meeting") The negotiators in Oslo struggled to change images and to alter perceptions of each other, but their hopeful vision for the future is in danger of being cast aside. Finding a solution for the problem between the Israelis and Palestinians is not a simple task. Yasser Arafat's ultimate objective is to obtain, by whatever means necessary, the maximum amount of current Israeli land and resources. Netanyahu's objective must be the exact opposite, to yield the minimum amount of territory. One thing is for sure; the numerous terrorist bombings will not accomplish any of this. Maybe the time has come for a more comprehensive and all encompassing negotiation that would include all of the countries involved in the region.
For example, why not create a "real" homeland for the Palestinians, the objective of the Palestinians, by taking territory from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel? After all, why should Israel be expected to make all the geographic sacrifices to fulfil the aspirations of the Palestinian people? Why not let all the countries that are expressing their concern for the future prospects of the Palestinian people pay the territorial price for their freedom and autonomy? Few events have aroused such intense reactions as the Oslo Peace Process. However, the peace process has irreversibly transformed the Middle East.
Things have been said that have never been said before, things have been done that were never done before, and written peace commitments have been exchanged. There are no guarantees for the future, and in an atmosphere of bombings and violence, peace cannot be forged. Dedicated opponents of peace can still dismantle the Accord bit by bit through their terrorist and violent acts, until every necessary element of friendship, trust, and co-operation that is required for the Oslo Accord to succeed, has been undone. The success of the peace process may not lead to perfection, but it will stop the endless cycle of wars and violence. For both Israelis and Palestinians a path of opportunities has been shown.
It is a difficult path, but unless it is pursued, generations might pass before anyone will attempt such a peace process again. Bibliography "Chronology of Bombing Attacks Following September 1993 Accord." web 1996. "Chronology of PLO-Israeli Peace Moves." web 1995. Corelli, Rae. "Days of Reckoning" in Maclean's Magazine p. 34 - 35. Toronto, Canada: Maclean Hunter Limited. September 5, 1996 Finkelstein, Norman G.
The Rise and Fall of Palestine- A Personal Account of the Intifada Years. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Hunter, Robert F. The Palestinian Uprising. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1995. "Israel Mourns Bombing Victims." web 1996. Peres, Shimon.
The New Middle East. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1995. Silver, Eric. "A Martyr to Peace" in Maclean's Magazine p. 26 - 28. Toronto, Canada: Maclean Hunter Limited. November 13, 1995 Spencer, Dr. William.
The Middle East. Connecticut: The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc. , 1994 "U. S. Envoy Organizes Top Israeli, PLO Meeting." web October, 1997
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