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September 24, 2004
Plan is the last resort
Disengagement comes after options fail, says Ayalon.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
The Israeli government's disengagement plan is a last-ditch effort
that recognizes the hopelessness of negotiating with Yasser Arafat
and his associates, according to the Israeli ambassador to the United
States.
The ambassador, Danny Ayalon, made the comments earlier this month
in a conference call with representatives of Jewish newspapers,
in which the Bulletin participated.
"We still extend our hand in peace, as we have been doing consistently
throughout the last five or six decades," said Ayalon. "Even
in the last four years, after this betrayal – and I call it
betrayal of the Palestinians and Arafat in Camp David – even
after this, there were still attempts to negotiate with them. After
Camp David we had Taba ... but even after [Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel] Sharon came into office, there were two telephone calls with
Arafat still trying to give them a chance to lay down their arms
and stop the terrorism and negotiate. Then there was the Mitchell
Report, which we all accepted. Then there was the Tenet plan. Then
there was the Zinni plan. Then there was the roadmap, which we all
accepted. But to no avail.
"There is no partner with whom to work, which brought about
the new policy ... which Prime Minister Sharon introduced, which
was the disengagement plan, recognizing that (a) there is no partner
so long as Arafat and the whole Arafat system is there and (b) that
the situation is untenable. We wanted to stop this bloody bearhug
with the Palestinians and in the absence of a partner, Prime Minister
Sharon has decided on the disengagement."
Ayalon has been the Israeli ambassador to the United States for
two years and is considered the first "non-political"
appointee to the post. Prior to this posting, he served as a foreign
affairs advisor to Labor and Likud prime ministers. He was a member
of Israeli peace delegations at Sharm El-Sheikh, in 1997, and at
Wye River in 1998.
Ayalon credited the success of the anti-terrorism barrier being
constructed along the boundary with the West Bank, noting it is
part of the larger proposed disengagement plan. The plan involves
a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a partial withdrawal
from the West Bank, which Ayalon calls Judea and Samaria, beefing
up border defences and increasing humanitarian conditions for Palestinians
and creating a "new landscape" in the Palestinian body
politic.
The ambassador lauds the effectiveness of Israeli security and military
forces in reducing civilian deaths and casualties and cites the
support of the Israeli general public behind Sharon's plan. Terrorism's
goal is to destroy the morale and fabric of a society and to turn
the people against their own government, he said. That has not succeeded
in Israel, Ayalon noted.
The irony does not escape Ayalon that the Israeli general public
is massively behind Sharon's disengagement plan, with polls suggesting
support at about 70 per cent backing, yet Sharon's own Likud party
is opposed. But the ambassador downplayed the significance, noting
that political parties have no constitutional authority over government
operations.
"The prime minister is determined. He knows what's good for
the country. He has the sole authority to continue with the disengagement
and he will."
The Israeli people are to be commended for refusing to give in to
terrorists, he added.
"The real heroes in this campaign of terror against us were
the Israeli fathers and mothers who kept sending their children
to school every morning knowing full well that the school buses
are the first target for the terrorists [as well as] school cafeterias
and children and kindergartens," said Ayalon.
Recent allegations of a low-level American intelligence official
passing information to the Israeli government is a "non-issue,"
according to Ayalon. The matter, the ambassador insists, was either
a deliberately malicious attempt to undermine American-Israeli relations
or simply professional incompetence by a low-level official. Ayalon
argued the conflict would actually improve diplomatic relations
because it has brought a spotlight into the dark recesses of anti-Israeli
conspiracy theories.
Responding to a question about the perceived growth of settlements,
Ayalon insisted the "natural growth" of settlements –
building that is commensurate with birthrates – falls within
Israel's rights. Israel, according to the ambassador, has never
accepted the assertion that such growth is forbidden by international
agreements, disputing the assertion that settlements are increasing
in contravention of the spirit, if not the letter, of Israeli agreements.
On the contrary, he said, 21 settlements in Gaza and four more in
the West Bank are proposed for dissolution under the disengagement
plan.
"When you look at the big picture, this is what should be impressed
upon the world community," he said.
Speaking shortly before the Rosh Hashanah holidays, Ayalon looked
back at the past year and forward to the months ahead.
"May this year end with its curses and the new year usher in
its blessings," he said. "Certainly we've had our full
share of curses in the past year. The curse of terrorism continues
to plague not just our country and people but the entire world.
"But we've also had our blessings," the ambassador added.
"The blessings were, first of all, the resolution of the Israeli
people in the face of this adversity and this onslaught of terror....
I think that we have proven that terrorism can be fought and can
be fought very, very effectively, can be brought down to quote-unquote
tolerable levels. The lesson is ... if you are resolute, if you
fight back, terrorism is not effective and cannot yield political
success or extortions or any other benefits."
The conference was sponsored by the American Jewish Press Association
and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Pat Johnson is a British Columbia journalist and commentator.
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