u Author claims Palestinians want better peace plan, not fighting
By ANNE-MARIE
MATTINGLY
Attempts at Middle East peace have failed not because the Palestinians want war, but because they have not yet been offered acceptable peace terms, said Noah Salameh Ghnaim, director and founder of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in Palestine Tuesday.
"As Palestinians we do not fight just for fighting," he said. "We are, from the beginning, looking for justice and peace."
Ghnaim, who was born in a refugee camp near Bethlehem and spent 15 years as a political prisoner beginning in 1967, explained that Palestinians have resorted to violence because such tactics are the only way to capture the attention of the rest of the world.
After the Palestinian community declared its existence in 1965, Ghnaim said the group was ignored by the international community until it began using shock tactics such as kidnapping airplanes to attract attention.
Under President Bill Clinton's current proposal, 26 percent of the land comprising historical Palestine would be returned to the Palestinians, but Israelis are demanding control of all major cities, the area's air space and borders, and the Dead Sea, said Ghnaim.
"There is no access, even, between [the areas Palestine would control]," he said. "That is the offer of Clinton."
In addition, the agreement would require the Palestinians to pledge that they would not raise any new demands in the future. Ghnaim argued that this is peace without justice because the proposed agreement fails to recognize the Palestinians' humanity or equality with the Israelis.
He cited Israeli limitations on Palestinian use of water and numerous border checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from travelling to their jobs in Israel as among factors contributing to the tension between the two groups.
"I'm eager to have peace with the Israelis — but I don't think we need a piece of paper. We need a just peace with equal rights to our partners," said Ghnaim. "[We] must treat each other equally before we can begin to negotiate. I think peace is to respect people, to sit together, to speak as equal people."
Ghnaim, who has been involved with negotiations between the groups for 40 years, said he has never felt that respect from his Israeli counterparts. In addition to fostering mutual respect, the world also needs to stop rushing the peace process, Ghnaim said.
The Israelis must consider the needs of the Palestinians as soon as their own when proposing solutions, added Ghnaim, who feels that an appropriate agreement cannot be reached before Clinton leaves the White House.
Ghnaim is a 1994 alumnus of the Kroc institute and currently lives in Hebron, where directs the Bandar Ben Sultan Center for Peace and Regional Studies at Hebron University. He is also studying for a PhD in conflict resolution at George Mason University in Virginia.
All News Stories for Wednesday, January 17, 2001
