Road map for peace
The
"road map" for peace is a
plan to resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "
quartet" of international entities: the
United States, the
European Union,
Russia, and the
United Nations. The principles of the plan were first outlined by
U.S. President George W. Bush in a speech on
June 24,
2002, in which he called for an
independent Palestinian state living side by side with the
Israeli
state in peace.
In exchange for statehood, the road map requires the
Palestinian Authority to make
democratic reforms and abandon the use of
terrorism. Israel, for its part, must support and accept the emergence of a reformed Palestinian
government and end
settlement activity of the
Gaza Strip and
West Bank as the
Palestinian terrorist threat is removed.
The road map comprises three goal-driven phases with the ultimate goal of ending the conflict as early as
2005. However, as a performance-based plan, progress will require and depend upon the good faith efforts of the parties, and their compliance with each of the obligations quartet put the plan together, with amendments following consultations with Israelis and Palestinians:
*
Phase I (as early as May
2003): End to Palestinian violence; Palestinian political reform; Israeli withdrawal and freeze on settlement expansion; Palestinian
elections.
*
Phase II (as early as June-Dec
2003): International Conference to support Palestinian economic recovery and launch a process, leading to establishment of an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders; revival of multilateral engagement on issues including regional water resources, environment, economic development, refugees, and arms control issues; Arab states restore pre-
intifada links to Israel (trade offices, etc.).
The first step on the road map was the appointment of the first-ever Palestinian
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) by Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat. The United States and Israel demanded that Arafat be neutralized or sidelined in the road map process, claiming that he had not done enough to stop Palestinian attacks against Israelis while in charge. The United States refused to release the road map until a Palestinian Prime Minister was in place. Abbas was appointed on
March 19,
2003, clearing the way for the release of the road map's details on
April 30,
2003.
On
May 27,
2003, Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon stated that the "occupation" of Palestinian territories was "a terrible thing for Israel and for the Palestinians" and "can't continue endlessly." Sharon's phraseology prompted shock from many in Israel, leading to a clarification that by "occupation," Sharon meant control of millions of Palestinian lives rather than actual physical occupation of land. Nevertheless, outsiders believed that Sharon knew what he was saying when he used the word "occupation" and was carefully offering the road map for peace a chance, despite his traditionally hawkish views towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
President Bush visited the
Middle East from June 2-4 2003 for two
summits in an attempt to push the road map as part of a seven-day overseas trip through
Europe and Russia. On June 2, Israel freed about 100 Palestinian political prisoners before the first summit in
Egypt as a sign of goodwill. In Egypt on June 3, President Bush met with the leaders of
Egypt,
Saudi Arabia,
Jordan and
Bahrain, and with Prime Minister Abbas. The Arab leaders announced their support for the road map and promised to work on cutting off funding to "terrorist groups." On June 4, Bush headed to Jordan to meet directly with Sharon and Abbas.
After Bush left the region, a series of retaliatory attacks by Israelis and Palestinians threatened to derail the road map. On
June 10,
2003, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car in Gaza in a failed attempt to assassinate
Hamas leader
Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Two Palestinians were killed in the attack. The next day, a Palestinian
suicide bomber blew himself up on an Israeli bus, killing 17 passengers and bystanders. In the following few days, Israel continued its targeting of Hamas leaders with new helicopter attacks.
On
June 29,
2003, a tentative cease-fire was reached between the Palestinian Authority and four major Palestinian groups.
Islamic Jihad and
Hamas announced a joint three-month cease-fire, while Yasser Arafat's
Fatah faction declared a six-month truce. The cease-fire was later joined by the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. One condition of maintaining the truce is a demand for the release of prisoners from Israeli jails, which is not part of the road map process. Despite this, Israel withdrew troops from the northern
Gaza Strip and was discussing the transfer of territory to Palestinian control. The apparent breakthrough coincided with a visit to the region by
United States National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
On
July 1,
2003, in
Jerusalem, Sharon and Abbas held a first-ever ceremonial opening to peace talks, televised live in both Arabic and Hebrew. Both leaders said the violence had gone on too long and that they were committed to the U.S.-led road map for peace. On
July 2, Israeli troops pulled out of
Bethlehem and transferred control to Palestinian security forces. The plan required that Palestinian police take over from withdrawing Israeli forces and stop any anti-Israeli militant attacks. At the same time, the U.S. announced a $30 million aid package to the Palestinian Authority to help rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Israeli incursions.
As of the end of 2003, the Palestinian Authority has not prevented
Palestinian terrorism, while Israel has not withdrawn from Palestinian areas occupied since September 28, 2000 or frozen settlement expansion. Thus the parties have not complied with the requirements of
Phase I of the road map and no further progress on the roadmap has been made and it is thus currently effectively in limbo.
On
February 13,
2004 the United States government decided that it may endorse
Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon's plan for a
unilateral withdrawal of most Israeli settlements from the
Gaza Strip, noting that "...negotiations were impossible because of Palestinian recalcitrance."[
1]
On
April 14,
2004, President
George W. Bush wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seeming to herald two significant changes or increased specifications to longstanding but ambiguous U.S. policy which had most recently been embodied in the road map. For the first time during the road map process, Bush indicated his expectations as to the outcome of the final status negotiations. The letter was widely seen as a triumph for Sharon [
2], since Bush's expectations seemed to favor Israel on two highly contentious issues. Regarding final borders, the letter stated: "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities...". Second, regarding the
Palestinian refugees'
right of return, Bush also stated: "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of Palestinian refugees there rather than Israel." [
3]
On
May 8,
2004 in an interview with
Egypt's
Al-Ahram newspaper, President George W. Bush clarified the current situation regarding the road map stating:
Well, 2005 may be hard, since 2005 is right around the corner. I readily concede the date has slipped some, primarily because violence sprung up. When I laid out the date of 2005, I believe it was around the time I went to Aqaba, Jordan. It was a very meaningful moment, where former Prime Minister Abu Mazen, myself, Prime Minister Sharon and His Majesty, the King of Jordan, stood up and pledged to work together.
But we hit a bump in the road -- violence, as well as Abu Mazen being replaced, which changed the dynamic. I don't want to make any excuses, but nevertheless, I think the timetable of 2005 isn't as realistic as it was two years ago. Nevertheless, I do think we ought to push hard as fast as possible to get a state in place.
And I repeat to you, sir, that part of my frustrations were alleviated with the Quartet making the statement it made the other day -- the Quartet being the EU, Russia, United Nations and the United States, working together. I think we can get the World Bank involved. But there is a certain sense of responsibility that falls upon the Palestinians, reform-minded Palestinians to step up and say, yes, we accept these institutions necessary for a peaceful state to emerge.[4]
On
July 18,
2004,
United States President George W. Bush stated that the establishment of a
Palestinian state by the end of
2005 was unlikely due to instability and violence in the
Palestinian Authority.
(Le Figaro)On
8 February 2005, the leaders of Israel,
Egypt,
Jordan and the Palestinian Authority came together at
Sharm el-Sheikh for a
summit meeting at which they declared their continuing support for the road map.
In his
May 26,
2005 joint press conference with Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas in the
Rose Garden, President Bush said:
Any final status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and changes to the 1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to. A viable two-state solution must ensure contiguity of the West Bank, and a state of scattered territories will not work. There must also be meaningful linkages between the West Bank and Gaza. This is the position of the United States today, it will be the position of the United States at the time of final status negotiations. [5]
This statement was widely seen as a triumph for Abbas, as many commentators view it as contradictory to his April 14, 2004 letter[
6]. The Bush administration has made no attempts to clarify any discrepancies between the two statements.
In August
2005, the Israelis started their planned
disengagement from the Gaza Strip, removing all settlers from this area and from a small portion of the West Bank. This was widely endorsed around the world and the process, although unilateral on Israel's part, was co-ordinated with the Palestinian Authority.
On
4 June, 2006
Ehud Olmert announced he will meet
Mahmoud Abbas to resume talks on the Road map for peace. Olmert and Abbas joined breakfast with
King Abdullah II of Jordan on 22 June 2006 in
Petra.
[EuroNews, 22 June 2006] They pledged to meet again in coming weeks.
[ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/22/international/i022442D88.DTL&type=politics AP], 22 June 2006]On
22 June,
Hamas accepts parts of the
prisoners' document. On
27 June, 2006
Hamas and
Fatah both accept the document fully.
[Palestinians recognize Israel, CNN, 27 June 2006]*
Elon Peace PlanIn November of 2004 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who led his palestinian people's struggle for 40 years, died aged 75 in a French hospital. Mr Arafat's many powers were divided among his officials, with Mahmoud Abbas elected head of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Rawhi Fattuh sworn in as acting president of the Palestinian Authority. [
7]
French President Jacques Chirac paid tribute to "a man of courage and conviction who for 40 years incarnated the Palestinians' fight for recognition of their national rights".
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the death could be a turning point for peace if the Palestinians "ceased terrorism" and waged a "war on terror".
The White House simply described the death as a "significant moment in Palestinian history", and offered condolences.
In early January 2006 Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister, suffers a major stroke and has not revived from a drug induced coma. [
8]
With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a serious condition in hospital, his powers have been transferred to his deputy, the Finance Minister Ehud. Olmert. [
9]
In January 2006 the Islamic militant group Hamas won a surprise victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. The preliminary results gave Hamas 76 of the 132 seats in the chamber, with the ruling Fatah party trailing on 43. [
10]
This did not bode well for roadmap progress. Both Israel and the U.S. announced that they would not deal with Hamas. In Israel, interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated, "Israel will not conduct any negotiation with a Palestinian government if it includes any members of an armed terror organization that calls for Israel's destruction." Pres. Bush said the U.S would not deal with Hamas until it renounced its call to destroy Israel. But Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Zahhar refused to renounce violence. "We are not playing terrorism or violence. We are under occupation," he told BBC World TV. [
11]
*
Paris Peace Conference, 1919*
Faisal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)*
1949 Armistice Agreements*
Camp David Accords (1978)*
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (1979)*
Madrid Conference of 1991*
Oslo Accords (1993)*
Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (1994)*
Camp David 2000 Summit*
Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict*
Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs*
List of Middle East peace proposals*
International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict*
Sharm el-Sheikh Summit of 2005*
Full text of the "road map" - April 30, 2003
*
Text of Palestinian truces - June 29, 2003
*
Hamas vows to sabotage blueprint for Palestinian state *
Abbas: I avoided Road Map compliance*
Hanan Ashwari on expected text of the Road Map written October 28, 2002*
"A Shot at Peace": Can the U.S. Enforce the "Road Map"*
Analysis of the Sharon government's strategy towards the Road map - by
Uri Avnery, 25. August 2003
*
Open Directory Project - Road Map, 2003 directory category
