Israeli Elections Come and Go, But Israel Remains an Outlaw State
A Palestinian family reacts after Israeli bulldozers demolished their home in the Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, Feb. 5, 2013. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
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Newly elected Israeli Knesset member Yair Lapid (l), leader of the Yesh Atid party, speaks to Naftali Bennett, head of the hard-line national religious party the Jewish Home, during a Feb. 5 reception in Jerusalem marking the opening of the 19th Knesset. (URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES)
Richard H. Curtiss (1927-2013) Devoted His Life to Telling People Stories
Richard Curtiss at work in his Washington Report office. (STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY)
Israeli License to Cheney-Linked Energy Firm on Golan Heights Raises Eyebrows
Then-Vice President Dick Cheney (l) and Likud chairman Benyamin Netanyahu, out of office at the time and serving as the official Israeli opposition leader, at a March 23, 2008 breakfast meeting at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Peace at Last in the Southern Philippines?
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (r) shares candies with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief Murad Ebrahim during a Feb. 11 visit to the rebels’ stronghold in Sultan Kudarat on the island of Mindanao. (KARLOS MANLUPIG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Two Palestinian, Israeli Documentaries Depict Evils of Military Occupation
Emad Burnat views his five broken cameras in his documentary of the same name. (PHOTO COURTESY KINO LORBER)
Peace Negotiations: What Works And What Doesn’t
Professors Ilan Peleg (r) and Paul Scham discuss crucial factors for peace. Staff photo D. Hanley
Amid rumors that the Obama administration would soon move forward toward a comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace agreement, Middle East Institute adjunct scholars Ilan Peleg and Paul Scham analyzed the possibilities for success at a Sept. 11 lunchtime event in Washington, DC. Peleg, a professor at Lafayette College, serves as editor-in-chief of the Israel Studies Forum. Scham is a visiting professor of Israel Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The two examined past negotiations to determine what has worked and what has not, both in format and substance, including both American-assisted meetings and others. Having set up a typology of 10 factors which have been crucial to previous negotiations, Peleg and Scham measured the situation today against those factors to determine the likelihood of success or failure.
Factors for a diplomatic breakthrough exist if the parties are ready to deal, Peleg said—otherwise there is little chance for progress. Parties are ready to talk if there is a “distress factor”—for instance, there may be an outside player like Iran, or a “trauma factor,” like the bloody Yom Kipper war in 1973, or the first intifada. It also helps to have an authoritative leadership on both sides—first to negotiate, then to sell the agreement to constituents, and finally to implement the agreement.
International support, especially from Arab countries, is also critical, Peleg said. Heavy American participation is required, not just as a spectator but as a participant, and presidential involvement is crucial. Then there is the domestic American factor.
There must be careful pre-negotiation preparation, which must move cautiously to avoid failure, Peleg warned. Artificial deadlines, like the end of presidential terms, don’t work. In addition, expectations should be kept low to avoid huge disappointment. Timing is crucial and political calendars should match. Finally, there should be a willingness to apply pressure on both parties to make painful concessions.
Scham applied these factors to the current situation, starting with the distress factor. Gaza is still recovering from war and suffering under a blockade, and Israel is distressed by Iran. Leadership is a problem, as both Israel and Palestine have colorless, unpopular leaders, Scham said. If Marwan Barghouti were released from Israeli prison he might succeed in making peace, but in Israel there is not one single charismatic leader from any party, according to Scham. International and Arab supporters are still sitting on the sidelines, he added, but President Barack Obama is sending not subtle hints that he is ready to engage in this task. The question is, does Obama have the skills to navigate foreign and domestic minefields to make peace? If Obama pushes through a health care victory, Scham said, he will be in a stronger position to push for a peace agreement.
—Delinda Hanley
