November 1992, Page 27

Special Report

Israel's Obsession With "Security" Is the Principal Obstacle to Peace

By a Palestinian Observer in the Gulf

Ever since its establishment in 1948, Israel's governments have focused attention on the country's need for security guarantees. As such guarantees have been realized, they have generated no apparent satisfaction on the part of Israeli governments.

In fact, Israel is a creation of the United Nations. This in itself is the ultimate guarantee, taking into account the rejuvenation of the U.N. during and after the Gulf crisis that led to the liberation of Kuwait.

The second assurance, if another is needed, is the "new world order" that came into being after Kuwait's liberation and the consensus among major world powers that cooperation, openness, democratization and respect for basic human rights are the mainstays of this "order." It should give the Israelis more peace of mind than ever to know that the majority of Arab countries, and in particular the Arab "confrontation states" bordering Israel, were among the first to uphold and implement the new world order during the Gulf crisis.

Third, the U.S. and other countries are providing Israel with substantial financial aid to subsidize its economy, which would otherwise have collapsed long ago. Such aid in itself is a commitment on the part of the donors to the existence and prosperity of the recipient. Israel's principal donor, which is the major world power, would not, under any foreseeable circumstances, allow the destruction of the recipient state.

Fourth, the state of Israel has let it be known that it possesses more than 100 nuclear warheads. These are a strong deterrent against any state, such as Iraq or Iran, that might consider ignoring all of these factors to launch war against Israel.

Thus, Israel already enjoys diplomatic, political, economic and military guarantees of its "real security."

Most Arab states, including the Palestinians, have recognized Israel's right to exist within secure and recognized borders and are at present engaged in a negotiation process to define those boundaries in exchange for normalization of relations with Israel, in the form of a final peace treaty.

Once Israel acquires legitimacy within the region, it should relinquish its persistent demand that the Palestinians exercise self-determination in the context of a Jordanian state, and instead acquiesce in the creation of a Palestinian state independent of any other Arab country, if that is the Palestinians' choice.

This would be a better guarantee for Israel's security than forcing the creation of a Jordanian-Palestinian state, apparently desired by neither Palestinians nor Jordanians.

In fact, it appears that Israel does not approve of an independent and separate Palestinian state because its leaders have concluded that the very existence of such a state would be a reminder of the existence of an Arab Palestinian people, with all that might entail. So, it tries deliberately to confuse the issue by alleging that such a state would be a security risk to Israel.

This is incredible, given the huge military power of Israel and the tiny size of the West Bank and Gaza territory that remains for establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders. To give even more guarantees to Israel, such a Palestinian state surely would be under the trusteeship of the U.N. for some time.

So, based on such an array of guarantees, the Israelis have fewer excuses than at any time before not to make peace within the context of the present peace process, which the United States has structured to involve not only every Arab state bordering Israel but also other Arab states with the economic power to undermine the agreements reached.

Given the existing and available guarantees, the Israelis and their leaders, in the words of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in his recent inaugural speech, "must overcome the sense of isolation that has held [them] in its thrall for almost half a century." They must go to the peace negotiations with open hearts and minds, and abandon the policy of demanding impossible guarantees that foreclose any agreement.

The Israelis have fewer excuses than ever before.

The Palestinians, as a people with a distinctive identity of their own, have the same right to self-determination as the Israelis. Consequently, negotiations should be about land for peace and not about "self-rule" or "autonomy" or any other ephemeral Israeli conditions laid down beforehand as a reflection of Israel's obsession with "security."

Real Palestinian statehood, on an equal footing with other peoples throughout the world, freely agreed to by Israel, enabling the Palestinians and all of their neighbors to enter into a meaningful, comprehensive peace with Israel, is the only missing condition for real and permanent Israeli security in the Middle East and in the world.

"Palestinian observer in the Gulf" is a Palestinian-born employee of an Arab state in the Gulf. The views he advances are his own.