Straight talk from Mahmoud Abbas, as published in today’s Wall Street Journal:
WASHINGTON — Four months ago I was elected president of the Palestinian Authority. My election placed upon me great responsibilities but also gave me a feeling of great pride — not in myself, but in the Palestinian people. For despite living under conditions of Israeli military occupation — with the pervasive presence of soldiers, armed settlers and roadblocks — and extreme economic distress, the men and women of Palestine cast a resounding vote for democracy.
Like any democratically elected leader, I have responded to the people’s needs: My government has initiated serious reforms of our governing institutions, our economy and our security forces; we have heeded the people’s call for transparency and accountability; we have worked hard to secure and maintain a cease-fire with Israel and we have begun the process of building our battered nation.
Although I have great faith in the Palestinian people and in our democracy, I also am aware that democracy without freedom is ultimately meaningless: An “occupied democracy” is an oxymoron. I share President Bush’s desire to see democracy and freedom spread throughout the Middle East, and I am grateful for all he and his administration have done to encourage Palestinian democracy. On behalf of the Palestinian people, I now call on him to help us, in dialogue with Israel, fulfill our dream of freedom.
President Bush has supported our quest for freedom, as he made clear in his vision of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. It is a vision that I and the overwhelming majority of Palestinians share; a vision that allowed me to run for president on a platform of ending violence and returning to dialogue with Israel and a vision that offers hope for a peaceful, normal life for both Palestinians and Israelis. It is also, however, a vision that is under attack.
Every day, Israel is undertaking steps that undermine President Bush’s vision and effectively preclude a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank, its insidious Wall which, since not built on the 1967 border, is suffocating Palestinian cities and towns, and its illegal attempts to cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank will, if allowed to continue, render a two-state solution to our conflict an impossibility. If the two-state solution dies, our democracy cannot be far behind, for democracy and freedom are intertwined: It is impossible to have one without the other.
For the next few months, world attention will focus on Israel’s planned unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians have no illusions about this action: It is not a gesture of peace; rather it diverts attention away from Israel’s settlement expansion of the West Bank. While much is being made of Israel’s withdrawal of 7,300 settlers from Gaza, homes for another 30,000 Jewish settlers are being built in the West Bank. Moreover, even after Israel withdraws its settlers from Gaza it wants to continue to control Gaza’s borders, airspace and seacoast. No one will be able to enter or leave without Israel’s approval, and the Israeli army has made clear its intention to operate at will within Gaza. The 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have lived under an oppressive occupation will hardly be made free by Israel’s evacuation. Palestinians fear that the Gaza Strip will become a large prison.
Despite all that, I have pledged that the Palestinian Authority will coordinate with Israel to make the evacuation successful and will undertake responsibility for Gaza after Israel pulls out. My government is determined to support the well-being of all Palestinians, and we will do everything in our power to maintain peace and stability, and to improve the lives of Gaza’s residents. I call on Israel to not hinder our efforts.
For the past four years, Israel’s daily military incursions and destruction of our infrastructure and institutions have rendered us an impoverished nation. But we are not weak: Our strength does not come from military superiority — it comes from convictions. My campaign for president was based on my unwavering belief that violence and unilateral action will not bring about lasting peace with Israel; peace can come only through negotiations and dialogue. Through persuasion, I have brought about in four months what Israel was unable to achieve in four years of military incursions and assassinations that led only to widespread death and destruction. But this period of calm will be quickly undermined if peace talks are not immediately launched. If we are to save the vision of a two-state solution, Israel’s evacuation from Gaza must be seen as a first step. It must be quickly followed by other steps in the West Bank as well as the resumption of peace talks aimed at a permanent peace agreement.
My election demonstrates that the Palestinian people share my convictions and are ready to make the painful sacrifices necessary to bring it to fruition. The parameters of my vision of a permanent peace agreement are well-known: a return by Israel to the pre-1967 borders, the sharing of Jerusalem as the capital of two states; a just and agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem and a permanent peace treaty between the states of Israel and Palestine based on equality and reciprocity. This vision is shared by an overwhelming majority of Palestinians and Israelis. Unfortunately, it is not shared by the Israeli government. Currently, many actions the Israeli government is undertaking contradict these parameters. The more unilateral action it takes, the more it blocks the road toward a peaceful final outcome and undermines my — and President Bush’s — vision.
Time is the greatest enemy of peace in the Middle East. And the time for interim agreements and partial accords is over. It is no longer enough to simply manage the conflict while Israel unilaterally acts. For the sake of peace and democracy, it is time to end the conflict. Israelis and Palestinians now have an opportunity to do just that — to bring a permanent end to our tragic conflict. I am ready immediately to sit down with Ariel Sharon and start permanent peace negotiations. When I meet with President Bush today, I will ask him to fulfill his vision of two sovereign, viable, democratic states, living side-by-side in peace and security. If he is still convinced and committed to his original vision, as I hope he will be, and if Prime Minister Sharon is pressed to abandon a unilateral solution, we can together make 2005 the year of peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Abbas is president of the Palestinian Authority.
