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Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 7. April 9 1979

The 'Middle East Peace Treaty' — Once Again, 'Peace in our Time'

page 10

The 'Middle East Peace Treaty'

Once Again, 'Peace in our Time'

"O happy time, when all the world is free!
The sun of Freedom shines o'er land and sea!
Released front war's alarms
now men lay down their arms,
and all is quiet

(except for an odd Palestinian riot)."

N.Z. poet

ARD. Fairburn

1902-57

With the ink barely dry on the Middle East peace accord, the latest in a string of such agreements, it is time to examine the reasons for the poor prospects of a lasting peace there.

Agreements and decisions over the future of this region in the last half century have been frequent. Initially, they were created to serve the imperial interests of the European powers, but more recently it has become fashionable to add the prefix "peace" to any formulations. But, whether "peace" has been proclaimed or not, the result has been the same, tension, incidents, hostility and on four separate occasions, an outbreak of full-scale war.

Historical Background

Throughout recorded history the region had also known much warfare, located as it was at the edge of three continents and there-lore intersecting important trading routes. The area also had a great degree of religious significance. Consequently, it was included in many of the empires of antiquity, from Egyptian to Byzamtiem, before being absorbed for four centuries of atrophy by the Turkish Ottomans.

With British occupation at the end of the First World War begins its modern history. The British government had indicated that it would, "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. It being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish communities in Palestine." These non Jewish communities at that stage constituted 90% of the population.

This was not the only undertaking the British government had made. The Sheriff of Mecca was promised by the British envoy in Cairo that independence would be granted to the region when hostilities ceased.

British Mandate

But when Allen by marched into Jerusalem, it soon became apparent that yet a third undertaking, to the French, was the one to be kept. Under the terms of the secret Sykes—Picot Agreement, the French were basically to get the land to the north; Syria and Lebanon, and the British the bottom portion.

A conference in Pans of the major powers ratified this and later at the League of Nations, Britain was given mandatory powers over Palestine and what was later to become Jordan.

At Paris. American President. Woodrow Wilson, foreshadowed Carter by making high sounding, but unfulfilled, noises about the wished of the indigenous inhabitants being paramount over major powers' interests.

Zionism

Between the world wars many Jews left Europe to enter the territory of mandate Palestine, whose borders, after 1922 roughly encompass modern day Israel.

This immigration, much illegal, was inspired by both growing anti semitism, especially throughout Nazi Germany and also the promise of a vacant homeland for "returning Jews". The local Arab population, who weren't meant to exist, opposed this immigration, for they began to perceive despite the lies, the real aims of political Zionism. Zionism is, in short, the political philosophy which advocates a separate nation state for Jews.

With the exposition and growth, this century, of Zionist philosophy, to both foster and Nourish from anti-Semitism, the palace tinian territory faced yet another threat.

Instead of merely having major powers trampling over it and carving it up between themselves, without reference to the local population, they now faced a colonialist settler migration intent on the creation of a separate slate. This by definition had to ultimately lead to the dispossesion of the local inhabitants, to provide both the material for existence, for the newcomers, and also the fulfillment of Zionist philosphical aims. With assassination of political opponents and widespread terrorism, the Zionists laid the foundations of their new state.

Zionist organisation, with well defined goals and its international nature, was superior to that of the local population. Not that it really needed of be, the major imperialist power, by the end of the Second World War, the USA, and the Zionists, had a concert of intention and interests and were able to have a recommendation for partition into Jewish and Arab states passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Once more the outside powers had decided the fate of the locals.

THE 'MIDDLE EAST PEACE TREATY' ONCE AGAIN, 'PEACE IN OUR TIME'

End of Palestine

The well armed and prepared army on the new Jewish state of Israel defeated the fortes of the surrounding Arab states who had attempted to defend their fellow Arabs in Palestine. Consequently, Palestine, the mandate embryo of an independent state, was strangled at birth and its people [unclear: becam] refugees.

The Zionists hijacked an entire country and threw most of its people out the door. This is the true cause of the present trouble and tension. It is not founded on a religious antipathy between Jew and Muslim, as so many sources from School Cerificate text-books to the Israeli government itself assert

Images of Gaza strip and related people

For the Palestinian, it is a case of double dispossession, firstly, on an individual basis of farms and houses and secondly, on a national basis of a people being denied a state For those who can remain in Israeli occupie territory, suffer as third class citizens and are exploited, often as labour on their lands. Many are detained as political prisoners. page 11[unclear: this] only with such a background that [unclear: rest] events can be comprehended with [unclear: rity] and a realisation made that it peace which has been achieved, but [unclear: isfaction] of the self interest of [unclear: po-] states masquerading as solutions.

[unclear: i] Benefits

[unclear: In] Israeli government led by arch [unclear: Zioegin], seeks to consolidate its territorial [unclear: r] by talking of peace after its last [unclear: effort] a year ago was to invade [unclear: Le-] But even that would not satisfy the [unclear: ideal] of two millenia ago under the [unclear: om] of David and Solomon. To do [unclear: ould] require chunks of Syria, and [unclear: Leba-nd] Jordan. A quiesent shouthern [unclear: bor-uld] facilitate this.

[unclear: Secondly], Cairo's recognition of the [unclear: legi-] of Israel gives an illegitimate state [unclear: tina] of normality, when in fact it is [unclear: ae] phenomenon.

[unclear: Thirdly], the massive US aid bribe to sign [unclear: y] sufficiently supplements the already [unclear: aid] grant from the US to alleviate the [unclear: c] domestic difficulties, like inflation [unclear: e] armaments based economy, that be-

[unclear: With] the traditional major force in the [unclear: eague] and over a third of the Arab [unclear: s] population, now formally on side [unclear: rael], the Zionists have achieved the [unclear: t] land potentially irreparable split [unclear: o] ranks.

[unclear: loing] so they have also achieved an from pressure for implementing [unclear: Nai-tions] Security Council Resolution [unclear: lich] calls for withdrawal from the [unclear: rritones] Israel occupied in 1967.

[unclear: ter], at the Camp David stage of the - Israel negotiations, claimed that [unclear: is] being implemented through the of Sinai to Egypt and autonomy West Bank and Gaza. Even [unclear: excu-e] fraudulent Israeli redefining of the of the West Bank and Gaza as not [unclear: oc-] Syrian territory is not to be returned, by its separate treaty with Egypt has [unclear: d] a long planned reconvening of the [unclear: i] conference in preparation for which chairman, the US and USSR had [unclear: cal-] "the legitimate right of the [unclear: Palesti-in]October 1977. The US [unclear: Admini-n] soon revoked that position under [unclear: nist] lobby pressure, but nonetheless [unclear: va] conference could still have [unclear: deman-jor] concessions from Israel.

[unclear: For the] United States a settlement gives [unclear: endous] boost to Carter in his [unclear: re-elec-ospects], particularly in the key [unclear: elec-ates] where many Jewish Americans

[unclear: ter] has returned to the US with [unclear: effer-t] fundamentalism, like Chamberlain years ago to Britain, bringing not [unclear: on-ce] of paper to the White House Lawn, [unclear: e] signatories as well. Significantly aligning finalises the isolation of Egypt he Arab League and since it has [unclear: like-vered] from the USSR in 1972, sets [unclear: irmly] in the camp of the United Sta[unclear: in] ally to replace Iran.

Sadat

Egyptian policy is personified by President Sadat. His predecessor. Nasser sought Arab unity against foreign control and was an implacable foe of Zionism. Sadat, previously sensitive to similar Egyptian sentiment had sent troops into Sinai in 1973, had declared never to negotiate a peace until after the Israelis withdrew from Egyptian territory and never to sign a separate treaty.

Conversely, his war effort was never meant very seriously and he had been seeking an accommodation with Israel ever since 1971 when he was rebuffed by Golda Meir. He too had something to fear from a Geneva conference. Sadat stands to gain his share of US spoils as well besides the conditional return of the Sinai peninsular, lost to Israel in the 1967 war.

Other Responses

The other Arab states have gained a new impetus of unity as a consequence of the Egypt - Israel pact. The healing of the rift between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and King Hussein of Jordan and the discarding of the enmity between the governments of Syria and Iraq, being the most notable.

Israel and the US are alarmed over this unity. They had stupidly believed that the conservative Saudi and Jordanian monarchies would have at least adopted a neutral stance, if not to join in negotiations themselves. The recently convened Baghdad summit meeting of Arab leaders and its decision to impose a boycott on Egypt dashes American hopes in this respect. Since all that Egypt gained from Israel is its own territory back, then Arab displeasure is hardly surprising. Most importantly it shows them that Zionist ambition is not dead but only changed the nature of its tactics. They await attempts to be made to subvert them into similar capitulations.

For the Soviet Union too, the developments are significant. Whilst keeping contacts open with Israel the USSR seeks to support the aims of the Arab League to cultivate its own long term advantage. Veteran Foreign Minister Gromyko waits in the Baghdad wings with treaties of peace and friendship in hand. Having twice the oil reserves of the US, Soviet ambitions are not just for energy sources but rather to supplant the US as the major power in the area and deny it oil in the event of war.

New Zealand's now traditional forked tounge style of foreign policy statements typified much "western" reaction to the pact. Muldoon was "delighted" with Carter's efforts, while Talboys expressed reservations over the future of Palestinians and lack of favour among the Arab league.

The PLO

That leaves the Palestinians themselves, nearly four million of them. Some are alien in their own land, others under military control, but most exiled by decree and violence of the Israelis. Israeli governments, since they can no longer deny the very existence of a Palestinian entity, seek to define them as Jordanians, though most have no more lived there than the majority of Jews have lived in "their own state" of Israel.

Israel also remains implacable over the leadership by the PLO of the Palestinian people and will not even negotiate with it. The Israelis will not even tolerate a Palestinian "homeland" compromise in any shape or form. So far they have permitted elections among the Arabs for local councils on the occupied West Bank in the hope that these would produce an alternative to the PLO. But the results produced democratically elected collection of councils that proclaimed the PLO as the leaders of the Palestinian people, wherever they were located.

The PLO's formula had been to create a democratic, secular and unitary Palestine, to enable the Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews to co-exist in one national area as Muslim. Christian and Jew had managed to do prior to the advent of Zionism.

Terms of Treaty

Graphically different, the recent peace agreement states "autonomy" is not to occur on the West Bank area. Autonomy of peoples, not territory, clarifies Begin. This autonomy will occur after negotiations between unspecified parties, one assumes not the PLO. which are to last for only one year anyhow. Israel will not give up this territory as that would betray the Zionist ideal, nor will it specify the nature of it's continued military presence.

Also uncontrolled, is continued Jewish migration into the West Bank and Gaza. Conversely, there is no provision for return of Palestinian refugees to their homes. The status of Jerusalem doesn't even rank a mention. Such a deal therefore retains all the features of the status quo, only constipating it. It is no different in nature from the "self rule" formulas that the Israelis have been suggesting for years.

The solution is equivalent to a family being cast from a house and then being to told some of its members may live on the back porch, but only if they behave themselves and share it with the newcomers.

Such an agreement therefore goes a long way from Sadat's assertion in respect of the occupied territories that "Sovereignty is indivisible". Instead, the rhetoric is "swords into plough shares". The Palestinians, with only barren refugee camps to plough, would find little succour in such entreaties.

Don Carson

Images of Menachem Begin