Israelis and Palestinians urged to advance peace process by BBC News / UN News / New York Times 1:22pm 14th Nov, 2004   15 November 2004    Israelis and Palestinians must advance peace - UN envoy. (UN News)    Briefing the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East in the wake of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the senior United Nations envoy to the region urged both sides today to advance the peace process.    "Now that he has gone, Israelis and Palestinians, and friends of both peoples throughout the world, must make even greater efforts to bring about the peaceful realization of the Palestinian right to self-determination," Terje Roed-Larsen told the Council in his final briefing as Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, a position he assumed in 1999.    The envoy hailed the Palestinian leadership for taking "the first firm steps toward instituting a smooth transition of power" and for preventing internal unrest. He also praised Israel for allowing Palestinian security forces to bear arms.    "The extent and success of coordination in recent days is reminiscent of earlier, happier days, and might herald a new beginning - a new beginning that would come not because of President Arafat's passing, but in spite of the very difficult situation," he said.    Mr. Roed-Larsen called for the Palestinians to organize and conduct free and fair elections for the presidency within 60 days and to undertake "visible, sustained, targeted and effective action on the ground to halt violence and terrorist activity."    Israel, he said, must "refrain from all actions undermining trust, including settlement activity, facilitate the preparations and conduct of elections, and take steps to significantly improve the humanitarian situation by lifting curfews and easing restrictions on the movement of persons and goods." Mr. Roed-Larsen emphasized that "all these steps have to be taken in parallel."    13 November, 2004 (BBC News)    Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei has called for a speedy resumption of peace efforts with Israel, a day after Yasser Arafat's burial in Ramallah. Mr Qurei said now was the time to get serious, and with determination they could reach an agreement "in a very short time". He said there would be an election to replace Mr Arafat by 9 January.    Jailed West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is considering a bid, his wife Fadwa has told AFP news agency. Barghouti is in an Israeli jail serving five consecutive life sentences, but many consider him to be the most popular leader after Mr Arafat.    For now, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei - will take charge of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas - the former prime minister will lead the PLO, the umbrella body bringing together most Palestinian factions. Farouk Kaddoumi - will head the Fatah faction. The Palestinian parliamentary speaker, Rawhi Fattuh, has taken over as caretaker president of the Palestinian Authority until the election, which must be held within 60 days.    Mr Qurei appealed for international help to enable voter registration in the occupied territories. And he called for international help to restart the Middle East peace process. "I'm saying to the American administration, to President Bush to the Israelis and to the whole world, now is the period where we should be more serious," he said. "If we are determined to do it we can do it in a very short time."    In Washington on Friday, US President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair have expressed hopes for a renewed peace effort but made no concrete proposals on how to advance the peace process.    Observers say Mr Arafat's death on Thursday in a French hospital could present a new opportunity for peace. In recent years, Israel and the US had refused to deal with Mr Arafat calling him a terrorist and an obstacle to peace. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been pressing ahead with a unilateral plan to withdraw settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank next year. The Israelis have also been building a controversial barrier in the West Bank, which it says it needed to protect its citizens from Palestinian militant attacks. Palestinians say it is an attempt to grab land.    Mr Arafat, 75, died after suffering multiple-organ failure, but the exact cause of his illness and death is still not clear. He had been flown to Paris on 29 October after weeks of mystery stomach pains. He fell into a coma on 3 November and never regained consciousness. A military funeral was held in the Egyptian capital Cairo and he was buried in the West Bank town of Ramallah near the battered compound where he was confined by Israeli forces for more than two-and-a-half years.    11 November 2004    UN bodies pay tribute to Arafat, pledging support for a Palestinian State. (UN News)    In messages of condolences and a solemn memorial session, the United Nations today paid tribute to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, stressing his historic acceptance of the principle of peaceful coexistence between Israel and a future Palestinian State and regretting that he did not live to see its realization..    "By signing the Oslo accords (with Israel) in 1993, he took a giant step towards the realization of this vision," Mr. Annan told a memorial session of the 191-member General Assembly, which began with delegates standing to observe a minute's silence. "It is tragic that he did not see to see it fulfilled," Mr. Annan added, calling on both Israelis and Palestinians and their friends throughout the world to make even greater efforts to bring about the peaceful realization of the Palestinian right of self-determination.    The Secretary-General pledged full support for the Road Map peace plan sponsored by the UN, European Union, Russia and United States, which calls for a series of parallel and reciprocal steps leading to two States living side-by-side in peace by 2005.    "Though President Arafat did not live to see the attainment of these goals, the world will continue to strive towards them," Mr. Annan declared, also promising a continuation of the 55-year-old UN humanitarian assistance programme "for as long as the Palestinian people need our help."    November 12, 2004    "Casting a Vote for Peace", by Jimmy Carter. (New York Times)    For more than 40 years, Yasir Arafat was the undisputed leader of the fragmented and widely dispersed Palestinian community and the symbol of its cause. His pre-eminent role was not perpetuated by his boldness or clarity of purpose, but was protected from challenge by his status as the only common denominator around which the disparate factions could find a rallying point.    It was very frustrating to deal with Mr. Arafat in seeking a clear position of the Palestinians, because he was very careful to avoid making a final decision that, when revealed, might arouse intense opposition or rebellion from one of the many competing groups that accepted him as its spokesman. At the same time, his sensitive political antennas endowed him with the ability to enunciate a consensus with reasonable accuracy.    When given a chance by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel, Mr. Arafat responded well by concluding the Oslo Agreement of 1993, which spelled out a mutually satisfactory relationship on geographical boundaries between Israel and the Palestinians. The resulting absence of serious violence by either side was broken when a Jewish nationalist assassinated Mr. Rabin. Mr. Arafat later rejected a proposal devised by President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel, but its basic terms have led to positive initiatives between private groups of Israelis and Palestinians, in particular one known as the Geneva Accords. This proposal addresses the major issues that must be resolved through further official negotiations before a permanent peace can be realized.    In effect, peace efforts of a long line of previous administrations have been abandoned by President Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. For the last three years of his life, Mr. Arafat was incapacitated and held as a prisoner, humiliated by his physical incarceration and excluded by the other two leaders from any recognition as the legitimate head of the Palestinian community. Recognizing Mr. Arafat's failure to control violence among his people or to initiate helpful peace proposals, I use the word "legitimate" based on his victory in January 1996 by a strong majority of votes in an election monitored by the Carter Center and approved by the occupying Israelis.    Lately, with Mr. Arafat politically and physically debilitated, the resulting leadership vacuum has been filled by factions, some of which have resorted to unconscionable acts of terrorism. The Israelis have used this political interregnum to impose their will unilaterally throughout Palestinian territories, with undeviating support from Washington. When the widely respected leader Mahmoud Abbas was chosen by the Palestinian governing authority to act as its alternative peace negotiator, his effectiveness was undermined by both Mr. Arafat (who saw his authority threatened) and by Mr. Sharon (who preferred to make decisions without considering a strong Palestinian voice).    If a respected successor to Mr. Arafat can be chosen by the Palestinians (not by the Israelis or Americans), then there is a new opportunity to initiate peace negotiations. While Mr. Abbas was elected by the organization yesterday as the chairman, it is unlikely that he or any other leader can achieve political legitimacy unless chosen through a democratic process.    Moreover, serious obstacles exist now that were not present in 1996. At that time, Palestinians were permitted to move freely, to campaign and to vote throughout Gaza and the West Bank. This included East Jerusalem, despite a last-minute altercation about whether votes were being "cast in" or "mailed from" voting places in post offices. Now, many more illegal Israeli settlements have been built throughout the West Bank, a road system connects them like a spider web, and a wall is being constructed that encroaches in substantial ways into Palestinian territory from the internationally accepted boundary.    Another deeply disturbing change is the decision by Hamas and other militant factions to resort to suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism, whereas the hope for peace and justice discouraged such violence eight years ago. After that election, Hamas representatives rejected my efforts to have them accept Mr. Arafat as their political leader, and they continue to act independently.    Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain has stated recently that peace in the Middle East is the most important international issue. It is to be hoped that, in Washington and Jerusalem, there is also recognition that a bold and balanced move to achieve this goal will help to attenuate the Middle East tension and hatred that exacerbates the global threat of terrorism.    (Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is chairman of the Carter Center and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize).
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