The Middle East has not been short of peace initiatives over the past decades. There were times when the Palestinians proved to be intransigent but this seems to have been the exception to the rule, since in the majority of cases it has been Israel that has quashed most of the peace initiatives promoted by the international community.
A typical case in point was their dismissal of the joint Spanish-French-Italian initiative which they tried to quash before it could even be adopted by the European Union.
As a politician who tries very hard to understand the Israeli’s psyche and feeling of state of siege, I nevertheless cannot accept such an attitude of negativism.
Reading through some of the blogs on Haaretz, the moment the tripartite initiative was launched we had such comments as the following:
• Why does Spain not return Ceuta and Melilla to Morocco?
• What’s in it for Spain to deal with our lives?
And on and on.
The worst thing was that Israel did not merely take exception to certain aspects of the peace initiative but according to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel rejected the peace initiative out of hand.
In my opinion, the main reason is that Israel is totally against increased international intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the lines of what is going on in Lebanon.
The argument brought forward by the Israelis is that it was unacceptable for an initiative concerning Israel to be launched without coordination with Jerusalem.
I am quite sure that the Spaniards were envisaging such coordination at a later stage. But first it had to take off as an EU initiative.
I have reason to believe that lobbying is going on for the EU to quash such an initiative.
It would be interesting to find out what the Maltese position on the matter happens to be, unless it will have already been expressed by the time this article appears in print.
Israel seems to have a certain allergy to initiatives by the international community.
One could detect such foot-dragging even when the road map was launched.
Although they promised to give it due consideration they never took it seriously or implemented any of its major obligations.
In sharp contrast, the Palestinians welcomed the tripartite initiative, particularly its emphasis on international intervention.
This proposal should not hinder Israel in its efforts to continue fighting the war on terror as well as to send out a message for negotiations to those in the territories that do not support terror.
I agree with the Israeli FM that their interests are in a process that can bring forth a peaceful life but one needs hard facts to back up such political rhetoric.
If Israel is against terror – as I am convinced that it is – it should take on an opportunity that should lead to an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners including the Israeli Defence Forces soldiers whose kidnapping sparked the war in Lebanon and fighting in Gaza this summer as well as an international mission in Gaza to monitor a ceasefire.
I particularly welcome this initiative because Europe for once is showing that it is prepared to take the lead, rather than following the United States as it has often done in the not-too-distant past.
The sea change in the Senate and Congress made the timing of this tripartite initiative even more opportune. This initiative is not a peace process in itself but something that could pave the way for such a process by getting members of the international community to show their sensitivity, positive interests and moral obligations.
I was particularly struck by Spanish Socialist Premier Zapatero’s remarks that peace between Israel and the Palestinians means to a large extent peace on the international scene.
Let us sincerely hope that irrespective of the Israeli response, this initiative will go through the regular EU framework and channels successfully.
One has to recognise the fact that the Spaniards have always been prime movers on this front.
After all it was the Madrid conference in 1991 that laid the groundwork for the Oslo accords.
Israel is arguing that its position remained that negotiations needed to be directly between the parties to the conflict.
I am confident that the Spanish-French-Italian initiative does not exclude this.
The problem is that whoever speaks up for the Palestinians’ fight against occupation is instantly dismissed and perceived as not being a balanced interlocutor.
I still think the road map should be the ideal formula to push forward but I also tend to agree with Spanish FM Moratinos that the said road map is “fatally stalled”.
Israel should be welcoming with open arms any initiative that can break the current logjam.
It is also worth noting that even the European parliament recently adopted a resolution calling for an international force to be sent to Gaza and the West Bank, similar to the UNIFIL force operating in Lebanon – a proposal which both Prof. De Marco and myself had strongly supported a couple of months ago while participating in a Joe Grima Opinjonisti show on Net TV.
As an internationalist I feel that the campaign for peace in the Middle East should never stop, particularly when the political scene in Palestine and Israel offers no solace.
All parties should agree that we have wasted too much time and too many lives.
It is our responsibility to think only of how to make peace.
Giving peace a chance might sound like a slogan or a cliché but it is now more urgent than ever for all those who still truly believe in peace to unite their efforts towards the attainment of this goal.
Israelis should know that their security will only be found through strategic peace with Palestinians and not through the exercise and clout of their war machine.
On the other hand, Palestinian leaders – including Hamas – must make every effort to restore the Israeli public’s confidence in them, lost after years of horror and bloodshed.
Between them – Israel and Palestine – have all the ingredients for prosperity and together they can help the very same region that they live in.
As Europeans and Mediterranean people, we Maltese must play our part to the hilt by acting now with courage and wisdom without fear of what certain lobbies might think about our actions.
Both Israelis and Palestinians need to enjoy the right that we all enjoy. That is one of leading a “normal” life.
The Malta book fair needs to be reinvented
While praising the efforts of those who have organised this year’s book fair I feel that the whole concept needs to be reinvented.
Having visited the fair last Thursday at 7pm I was disappointed with the poor turnout and even more, by the titles on show.
I could not even find one single item from the American and British best-selling lists of fiction or non-fiction.
On the other hand, there were handfuls of special offers on titles which have long known better days.
I am inclined to think that the best fare was offered by Maltese publishers who had their best works on offer.
But many leading local distributors were conspicuous by their absence.
It is up to the organisers to establish why and to remedy matters by redesigning the formula for the years to come.
I am not targeting anybody in my criticism but merely expressing my disappointment as an avid book lover.
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Leo Brincat is the main opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs and IT.