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Yale Accords Research
Terrorism, regional security and arms control are amongst the most crucial issues on which the nations of the Middle East must come to compromises if a durable and lasting peace is to be reached in the region. Before discussing the concerns of parties on these issues in the context of a final status agreement, it is necessary to briefly review the history of Middle Eastern terrorism and its overall effect on the geopolitical atmosphere in the region. Terrorism on both sides has contributed to the atmosphere of hate and distrust that has long been an obstacle to comprehensive peace in the region. Throughout much of the 1950s and 1960s, Palestinian terrorists often based in refugee camps both in the Gaza Strip (which Egypt occupied until 1967), the West Bank (which Jordan occupied until 1967) and Jordan proper infiltrated and attacked Israelis, often wounding and killing innocent civilians. The Israeli army and Special Forces would frequently stage reprisal raids against suspected terrorist strongholds in the surrounding Arab nations. In a number of these raids, notably in Jordanian villages near Israel, innocent civilians were killed by Israeli forces along side the terrorists. In 1964, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PLO) was founded combining numerous Palestinian guerrilla, student and labor factions. The PLO was established with the express purpose of destroying Israel and setting up a Palestinian State on all of the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. The PLO, which has been led by Yasir Arafat since 1968 and was recognized by the Arab World as the Palestinian's sole and legitimate representative at the Rabat Conference in 1974, committed numerous attacks on Israeli civilians, soldiers, and interests in Israel and around the world. The PLO's participation in terror ended with Yasir Arafat's recognition of Israel (in its pre-1967 borders) and renunciation of terrorism in 1988. Israel until the Oslo Accords of 1993 refused to recognize or negotiate with the PLO. Acts of terrorism by the PLO, particularly against civilians, enraged Israel and her allies, most notably the United States, strengthening successive Israeli governments' resolve, until 1993, never to negotiate with Arafat. Splinter groups from both the PLO it's largest faction, Fatah, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (the PFLP) led by George Habash and Abu Nidal's Fatah Revolutionary Command also perpetuated terrorist attacks Israelis and Jews around the world. These organizations have of today still not recognized Israel or renounced terror. Beyond simply the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, which acts of terror perpetuated by feeding mutual suspicion and hate, other Middle Eastern conflicts were sparked by terrorism and terrorist organizations. The 1970 "Black September" confrontation between Jordan and the PLO is a worthy example. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed as King Hussein forcefully expelled the PLO, which had been using Jordan as a base for attacks on Israel. Both Israel and Syria almost became involved in the fighting but, mainly because of superpower intervention, tensions were eased and a wider conflict was prevented. After their expulsion from Jordan, the PLO relocated to Lebanon where they staged guerilla infiltrations into Northern Israel frequently killing Israeli civilians. In the 1982 Operation Peace for Galilee, Israel invaded and occupied Lebanon with the intention of destroying the PLO and its ability to attack Northern Israel. Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians were killed in the ensuing violence that led to Arafat and the PLO leadership fleeing to Tunisia. The end of PLO terrorism in 1988 coincided with the emergence of a new Palestinian terrorist force within the West Bank and Gaza, Islamic terrorism funded and supported by Iran. Since the early 1990s, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have staged frequent kidnappings of Israeli soldiers and civilians, suicide bombings of buses, and other types of attacks. Since the 1993 peace agreements between Israel and the PLO, Hamas and Jihad have stepped up their deadly attacks on Israelis with the expressed purpose of destroying the peace accords. They also seek to overthrow the Palestinian Authority and replace Arafat with an Islamic fundamentalist government. They are against any compromise with Israel and believe all the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River should be Palestinian. Since the Washington signing ceremony between Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat in September of 1993, Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis mostly in deadly suicide bombings in Israeli cities. Another Iranian-backed Islamic terrorist group, Hizbollah, has emerged in Lebanon since the late 1980s. Hizbollah seeks to expel Israel from South Lebanon, where they have occupied land as a security buffer since 1985 to ensure there are no more terrorist infiltrations into Northern Israel as there were before the 1982 invasion. Hizbollah generally wages guerilla war against Israeli troops and sometimes shoots short-range Katuysha rockets into Northern Israel wounding civilians and disrupting life in the Galilee. In recent years, a number of Jewish terrorist organizations like Kach and Kahane Chai have emerged mostly among Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, primarily in the settlements in Hebron and Kiryat Arba, with the objective of destroying the peace process. These groups believe that God gave all the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River to the Jews and that any Israeli government that withdraws from the West Bank and Gaza Strip is treacherous. Acts of terror on their part consists primarily of attacking local Palestinians in the West Bank, notably the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinians in a Hebron mosque by a Jewish settler affiliated with these movements. Kach and Kahane Chai members have also frequently threatened the lives of Israeli officials willing to negotiate with the Palestinians. Regional negotiations on arms control are closely related to the issues of terrorism and security. Israel's Arab neighbors oppose Israel's nuclear capabilities. Conversely, Israel is wary of potential threats from biological or chemical weapons. Further, Israel is interested in the nature of the military forces of a potential Palestinian state. Would such a state have an independent military? Would it be limited in size and weapons?
In the recent Wye Agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians were required to crack down on the Islamic terrorist infrastructure within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Arafat also agreed to arrest 31 suspected members of Hamas and Jihad believed to be responsible for attacks on Israel. Palestinians, conversely, have consistently demanded Israel disarm the Jewish settlers. Israel, although it has outlawed Kahane Chai and Kach, refuses to uniformly disarm the Jews who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. What commitments should Israel and the Palestinians make to reduce terrorism? Should an international body enforce these? What role should America and the CIA have in enforcement? Any peace treaties between Israel and Syria and Lebanon will have to address the fighting in South Lebanon. Israel has repeatedly demanded that Syria agree to rein in Hizbollah and prevent it from staging attacks on Northern Israel as a precondition to any Israeli withdrawal from the security zone. Will Syria agree to this? What compensation must Israel give up in turn? How can Syria and Israel work together to prevent terrorist attacks from Southern Lebanon? Should arms control be a special issue for negotiation among nations of the Middle East? Should nuclear, chemical and biological weapons be limited in the region? How can they be? What sort of military force if any should a Palestinian state have?
The International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism: http://www.ict.org.il Arab Net- The Online Resource for the Arab World in the Middle East & North Africa: http://www.arab.net Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il |
