Some people never learn. Every peace initiative in the Middle East aimed at ending the Arab-Israeli conflict has failed for one reason or another. Soon, the Arab League will attempt to build support in the United Nations Security Council for an international Middle East peace conference based on the 2002 Saudi peace initiative. While the goal is noble, holding a peace conference is not the timeliest of agendas at the moment.
Israel and the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah were recently engaged in a war, sparked by the cross-border killing and capturing of Israel Defense Forces soldiers, which ended on very shaky grounds by UNSC Resolution 1701. This calls for a number of things that have yet to happen: disarmament of Hezbollah and its total absence south of the Litani River, unconditional return of the IDF soldiers and cessation of the Israeli sea and air blockade of Lebanon. To enforce the cease-fire, the Lebanese army and a revamped UN peacekeeping mission are being deployed in the south of Lebanon. In all likelihood, neither of those two entities will deal with Hezbollah, leaving them in possession of the IDF soldiers.
It has been suggested, stupidly, that Israel engage in a “prisoner exchange” with Hezbollah and Hamas to secure the release of the soldiers. Large western nations have a known, and generally successful, reputation for not negotiating with terrorists. In Israel’s case, prisoner exchanges have been done before, with Israel releasing known terrorists and terrorist sympathizers in order to gain the release of two or three captives. Thus, the kidnapping of Israelis becomes quite appealing to terrorists.
So-called “land for peace” concessions also fail. When former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, the hope was that the peace process could resume. And yet, things were soon worse than before, with rockets raining down on nearby Israeli towns and terrorists, including al Qaeda, training in the now IDF-free Gaza. The typical rebuttal is that Israel still maintains its occupation of other Arab lands, but let us be realistic; attacks have continued because groups, like Hamas, do not desire a two-state solution. Their clear goal is the complete and utter destruction of the State of Israel. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and our own government have said there can be no negotiation, and therefore no peaceable solution, until Hamas changes its tune.
This brings us to the Arab League’s desire for a conference to jump-start the Saudi peace initiative. While it is a positive step forward for the greater Arab world, the timing of events calls attention to the fact that the Palestinian Authority has shirked its obligations, namely the dismantling of terrorist and paramilitary organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Additionally, before any peace can be declared there are many issues in Resolution 1701 that need to be resolved, especially the disarming of Hezbollah and the return of the IDF soldiers. When all involved parties make good on their commitments and stop the insufferable practice of terror, then maybe they can have that conference.
Christopher McGeady is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Science.
