Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Monday 4 December 2017

David Singer: Trump Should Adopt Bush Strategy to Encourage Israel to Negotiate

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

President Bush’s strategy to secure Israel’s agreement to negotiate under the Bush Roadmap should be given serious consideration by President Trump as he puts together his eagerly-anticipated “ultimate deal” to end the Arab-Jewish conflict.

Bush’s strategy involved him firstly stating his “vision” before actually announcing the Bush Roadmap to turn that vision into reality.

Israel was required to make concrete territorial withdrawals from Judea and Samaria (West Bank) – possibly compromising Israel’s security in the process. Publicly confronting Israel with the Bush Roadmap first up could have seen its outright rejection by Israel before the ink was even dry.

President Reagan had succeeded in doing just that when announcing his peace plan on 1 September 1982.  Reagan’s plan was unanimously rejected out of hand by Israel’s cabinet the very next day – whilst America pleaded with Jordan to accept it over the next twelve months as a means of putting pressure on Israel to cave in and negotiate. King Hussein of Jordan did not take the bait. The Reagan plan was dead in the water.

Bush was savvy enough to not repeat Reagan’s mistake.

Bush first enunciated his “vision” in a speech on 24 June 2002:
· Two states, living side by side in peace and security.
· The Palestinian people electing new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror, building a practising democracy, based on tolerance and liberty.
A draft version of the Bush Roadmap dated 15 October 2002 was “provided” to the New York Times and published on 14 November 2002.

After talks on 31 March 2003 at the White House with President Bush, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom announced that Israel was:
“adopting the vision of President Bush, and anything that will be a genuine, accurate reflection of this vision will be something that we will be able to work with.”
Bush’s Roadmap in final form was made public on 30 April 2003.

Israel’s response was markedly different from its response to Reagan’s proposal:
“The Government of Israel, today (Sunday), 25.5.03, considered the Prime Minister's statement on the Roadmap, as well as Israel's comments on its implementation. Following its deliberations, the Government, by a majority vote, resolved:
Based on the 23 May 2003 statement of the United States Government, in which the United States committed to fully and seriously address Israel's comments to the Roadmap during the implementation phase, the Prime Minister announced on 23 May 2003 that Israel has agreed to accept the steps set out in the Roadmap.
The Government of Israel affirms the Prime Minister's announcement, and resolves that all of Israel's comments, as addressed in the Administration's statement, will be implemented in full during the implementation phase of the Roadmap.”
Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice had given the following assurances to Israel from the lawns of the White House on 23 May 2003:
The roadmap was presented to the Government of Israel with a request from the President that it respond with contributions to this document to advance true peace. The United States Government received a response from the Government of Israel, explaining its significant concerns about the roadmap. The United States shares the view of the Government of Israel that these are real concerns and will address them fully and seriously in the implementation of the roadmap to fulfil the President's vision of June 24, 2002.
This astute and finely-crafted process paid off handsomely – with Israel being sufficiently encouraged by Bush’s assurances to agree to enter into negotiations based on Bush’s Roadmap.

The success of Trump’s ultimate deal could depend on Trump rejecting the Reagan approach and adopting the Bush strategy.

5 comments:

  1. The problem with all of these "plans" is that nobody understands what is going on here and the fact that you can't just draw a line down the middle and have 2 separate strips of land. The populations are too intermingled. In addition, the muslims do not want peace~they want it all. What the world is pushing for is the destruction of Israel. I live in Israel, and I tell you that the western mind set will never resolve the problem~in fact, that is what created this mess to begin with

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  2. The first step in Bush's "Roadmap" was for the Palestinian Authority to disarm terrorist groups. One day after it was signed, then Prime Minister Abbas announced they wouldn't do that as it would lead to civil war among the palestinians and not one of the sponsors of the Roadmap ever said a thing about that.

    Palestinians have never honoured any agreement they've ever signed with anyone, not just with Israel. The only strategy that could possibly work is to hold those bastards responsible for their commitments and the world will NEVER do that.

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  3. The facts don't support you on the intermingling of the Jews and Arabs.

    95% of the West Bank Arab population live in Areas A and B which covers 40% of the West Bank.

    Yes - the Arabs want 100% - but they will not get it. They were offered more than 90% in 2000/1 and 2008. Those offers are not likely to return.

    The fact that Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel should make one very careful to use the term "never" in the context of the Arab-Jewish conflict.

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  4. mrzee

    It is for the reasons you stated that there have been no negotiations with the PLO since April 2014.

    Bush's vision and Roadmap called for "the Palestinian people electing new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror, building a practising democracy, based on tolerance and liberty." For 11 years they did nothing to meet their obligations.

    They need to create the basic structures of a democracy -
    free elections, free speech, free press, independent courts - if are ever to be taken seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Taylor Force Act Has Been Gutted :
    www.algemeiner.com/2017/12/05/the-taylor-force-act-has-been-gutted/

    Pro-Israel Articles from Aish HaTorah:

    www.aish.com/jw/me/Ten-Ways-Israel-Is-Treated-Differently.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/13-Facts-about-Israel--the-Middle-East.html

    www.aish.com/jw/s/The_Pro-Palestinians_Real_Agenda.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/Why-Are-There-Still-Palestinian-Refugees.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/The-Arabs-Real-Grievance-against-the-Jews.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/Col-Richard-Kemp-on-Israels-Moral-Army.html

    www.aish.com/ho/i/Menachem-Begin-on-the-Lessons-of-the-Holocaust.html

    Articles Refuting the BDS Movement from Aish HaTorah:

    www.aish.com/jw/me/The-BDS-Smokescreen.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/BDS-The-Attempt-to-Strangle-
    Israel.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/BDS-and-Anti-Semitism.html

    www.aish.com/jw/me/Fighting-BDS-in-the-Name-of-Human-
    Rights.html

    www.aish.com/jw/s/Winning-the-BDS-Battle.html

    www.aish.com/jw/s/10-Ways-You-Can-Fight-BDS.html

    *** THE END ***

    ReplyDelete

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