Sharon must depart before peace can be welcomed in...

[Violet_Crumble]

By Chris McGreal
December 3, 2003

By one measure - the attention given to the Geneva accord by Ariel Sharon - the initiative is already a success.

"I owe Sharon a lot, undoubtedly," said Yossi Beilin, the chief Israeli negotiator of the ground-breaking peace deal formally launched at a ceremony in Geneva on Monday. "What he did for us, nobody else did. He represented it as a plot against the Government, but that became a joke. He could easily have dismissed it. He could have said a group of unimportant people signed an unimportant paper."

There is little doubt Mr Sharon's denunciations of the accord as a threat to Israel's existence and of its Jewish authors as collaborators with terrorists, gave the initiative credibility among a section of the public which is increasingly sceptical of Mr Sharon's ability to bring "peace with security".

The accord nailed the lie that there is no one to negotiate with on the Palestinian side. An opinion poll in Monday's Haaretz newspaper found that nearly a third of Israelis support the agreement, with slightly more opposed. Nearly 20 per cent have an open mind.


http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/02/1070351579887.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bluesoul]

2. Beilin is a hero

as well as those on the other side doing something for peace. For those I say :toast: and a :kick: for the likes of Sharon

[Gimel]

3. Arafat opposition

While this is downplayed in this artcle, there is strong opposition from the top, and in the population:

Yasser Arafat has not helped by offering half-hearted endorsement of the process. But Palestinian supporters of the accord believe the public can be brought on board if persuaded Israel is serious.

The violent protests and the flip-flop statements by Arafat, ensure no such thing.

[newyorican]

4. I don't think too many tears would be shed...

If both Sharon and Arafat decided to retire.

[GabysPoppy]

5. Holy Shit!!!

5000 posts between the two of us and we can finally agree on something.

If you look up today, I bet you see some flying pigs.

[newyorican]

7. It's not like I went out on a limb or anything..

eom

[Jack Rabbit]

8. Excellent point, Gimel

It is probably true that both Sharon and Arafat need to leave in order for the peace process to work. It would also be helpful if a real US president were in place willing to act as an honest broker, but the Israelis and Palestinians would be wise to not wait for that.

So far, the Geneva Accord is the result of people on both sides not waiting for people who want to resolve the conflict to come to power. The Accord's moral success has shown the wisdom of this path. The Accord is the product of a revolt of reasonable men.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. The reaction to the Accord by the war parties on both sides is fascinating

They couldn't have simply ignored it or dismissed it with a brush of the back of one's hand, could they? No, Arafat sends mixed signals, Sharon loudly denounces it, and the rightwing morons in the Knesset call Beilin a traitor and call for his arrest and trial while the Islamists in the Palestinian territoris call Abed Rabbo a collaborationist and shoot up his house.

More than anything else, the Geneva Accord exposes another dichotomy in this conflict than one between Israelis and Palestinians: the dichotomy between those who are willing to trade land for peace and those who insist on spilling the last drop of blood for every acre of land.

The majority of the people on both sides want the conflict resolved and are tired of so-called leaders unwilling to resolve it. That is why the Geneva Accord couldn't simply be ignored or dismissed out of hand.

[edzontar]

9. Well, THAT is a no brainer--but well said in any case.

Sharon and Arafat are clearly not prepared or equipped with the guts or imagnation to do what it takes to end this horror.

I wish they would both just go away.