“The Arab parties have entered the Middle East Conference bearing white flags” wrote one respected Pakistani scholar, “the outcome, if there is one, shall be Israel’s confirmation as the nuclear-powered hegemon of the Middle-East”. True. But this is hardly a startling revelation; we have known this fact since 1979 when Egypt’s Anwar Sadat ditched the Palestinians and signed on the dotted line at Camp David.Surely, a US-dictated Middle East conference was not required to reaffirm this reality.
Another local commentator noted the “key assumptions of the American-Israeli strategy” thus: “the Arabs can no longer present a united front against Israel… they are in no position nor have the political will to take on Israel… they are tired of the Intifada and are willing, ready and able to ditch the Palestinians… the balance of power now stands firmly in Israel’s favour… Camp David can now be replayed”. But surely these are not questionable US-Israeli assumptions, these are cold realities for all, players and bystanders alike.
It is surprising therefore that the same commentator should indulge in some fancy wishful thinking: “Collective economic and political pressure”, says he, “could have been mounted by the Arabs on the US, a pressure that could have translated into a tighter American screw on Israel. The role of Arab states as spoilers, as countries that are able to deny the US some of their key objectives, should not be underestimated. Now, it seems, such a role will be played…. by those actively engaged in the struggle, particularly in Lebanon and in the Intifada”.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The crippled Lebanese factions are under the thumb of Syria while the Intifada is umbilically linked to the PLO. And both Syria and the PLO, despite their thrill rhetoric of the past, are desperate participants in this Conference. As for the “collective economic and political pressure” which the Arabs could have been expected to mount upon the US, the less said the better. For too long, we have been blind to the real politik realities of the Middle-East. The reactionary, authoritarian Arab states are irredeemably bankrupt, the Arab peoples are demoralised, dispirited and fragmented. It has taken many futile wars with Israel, including one recently between the Arabs themselves, to come to this realisation. That is why, as the brilliant Palestinian intellectual Edward Said says, “no Palestinian can remain immune to the challenges and achievements of this conference”.
Of course, the US-sponsored Conference is patently unjust. Among other things, the UN has no role to play, the PLO is not formally represented and the Arabs of Jerusalem are without a voice. And of course, no great hopes should be entertained on the immediate outcome of these meetings in Madrid. It is impossible to undo in one round of talks the insecurities, horrors, suspicions, enmities and postures of whole generations of Israelis an Palestinians, of Jews and Muslims (though Jews and Muslims are not synonymous with Israelis and Palestinians respectively, despite the propaganda of the apologists of an illusionary “Islamic Ummah”).
But does it follow that one should outrightly condemn, as the Islamic fundamentalists of Iran have done or the “radical” and “extremist” Palestinians are doing, such a tainted peace conference as the one in Madrid? We think not.
A recklessly intransigent Israel has, at last, been forced to talk to a delegation of respected Palestinians whose vision is both moderate and reasonable: it is based on the 1988 Palestine National Council resolution calling for a two-state solution of land for peace according to UN Resolution 242 and 338. furthermore, Israel’s maximalist demands — no withdrawals, no recognition of the PLO, no Palestinian state, no self-determination, no discussion on Jerusalem — appear to be, for once, unacceptable even to its staunch Western supporters.
What, in fact, is a radical new development is the presence of the Israelies in Madrid, face to face with the Arabs for the first time in history. What is new and most welcome is the American pressure on Israel to exchange land for peace.
We should not spend too much time worrying about the maximalist position taken by Israel. That was to be expected. Instead, we should be elated that the Palestinians have finally succeeded in crossing the treacherous line in the sand drawn by the imperialist backers of Israel and, as the chief Palestine delegate Mr Haider Abdel-Shafi put it, “are finally able to narrate their own story”. That is exactly how all histories with an ending begin.