Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., March 04, 2009 Adar 8, 5769 | | Israel Time: 18:28 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 00:00 28/09/2008
Enough talk
By Gideon Levy
Tags: Palestinians, Israel news 

Click here for more articles by Gideon Levy

The most unstable country in the Middle East is changing its government again. Soon Israel will have a new government, with "continued peace negotiations with the Palestinians" engraved on its banner. Well, now it's time to end the farce after more than 15 years of futile negotiations that led nowhere and brought no peace. It's time to say enough already to the second most dangerous game after the war game - the "political process" game.

This mainly involves playing with ourselves, an idiom meaning masturbation in some languages, and thus a perfect metaphor for this "peace process" that must now be brought to an end. Snuff out this bonfire of vanities, this process of self-deception that pushes us ever further from any agreement. The time has come for decisions and actions - war or peace, annexation and a state of all its people, or dividing the land into two sovereign states. All this must take place during injury time; the 90th minute has long passed.
Advertisement
After 15 years of talking, nothing has been left unsaid or undiscussed. After endless peace plans, "drawer" and "shelf" plans, road maps and interim agreements, none of which has been carried out, we must scream to the new government: Don't start again with that futile negotiations carousel. Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas, Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qureia, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, Yossi Beilin and Abu Mazen, Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh, Ehud Barak and Arafat - they've all said it all. Now's the time to decide - to pull the detailed plans out of Bill Clinton's or Yossi Beilin's or Barak's or Rabin's drawer. The differences between them are minimal.

There is only one plan on the table: the end of the occupation, the '67 borders and solving the refugee issue in exchange for peace - yes or no. All the rest is insignificant. It cannot take much more time, simply because time has long run out. Take the Clinton plan or Geneva initiative, who knows what the differences are, and start implementing it. There will be no other plans.

It's not merely a criminal waste of time, which always acts against peace. That which could have been achieved a decade ago cannot be achieved today, and that which is still attainable today will no longer be possible in a decade. This danger is real: At the end of each negotiating round lurks the next cycle of violence. Nothing is more dangerous in this region than another failed negotiation.

In addition, the very existence of peace negotiations enables Israel to pretend to be doing something about the situation, without actually doing anything. Israel can thus go through the motions with no intention of reaching a peace agreement and feel as if it were doing everything to achieve it.

But while critical time was being wasted, Israel did not stand idly by. Neither did the Palestinian Authority. While they were negotiating, Israel was building more and more homes in West Bank settlements. In fact, it never stopped. Even Barak, the bravest of them all, added 6,000 housing units to the unworthy project. From one negotiation to the next, more and more opportunities dissipated. The occupation became increasingly heartless and brutal, as did Palestinian terrorism.

The only missing ingredient in all the tedious, superfluous negotiations was sincere goodwill to reach peace. Nothing is more critical than this, which has never been on the table, not even in the great illusion era of Oslo. That is why Israel has never offered, even then, to evacuate a single potted plant in the West Bank settlements. All it did was build more and more, dunam after dunam of destroying every chance. There is no other conflict in the world, it seems, where the negotiations to solve it have lasted so many years while the solution moved ever further away, like the horizon.

If the new government is headed for peace - and this is extremely doubtful - it must start with actions, not talks. It is very easy to change the occupation's road map: Just take a few steps like a mass release of prisoners and taking down all internal roadblocks to signal that the government intends to make peace. This would advance the political process more than all the talks, as daring as they may be.

If I were a Palestinian leader, I'd tell the new government: You know what our positions are, as we know yours. Let's not start everything over again. If you are sincere, start acting, even before the first photo-op between Livni and Abbas. This is even more apt when it comes to peace with Syria - we know what the conditions are, there is nothing to talk about, only to decide. Enough talk. It's time to act.
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Celebrity conversion
Lindsay Lohan is said to be converting to Judaism for her DJ girlfriend.
Settlement expansion
Peace Now: Israel planning 73,300 new homes in the West Bank.
  1.   Levy is right, Israels "pretending-game" must come to an end..... 09:54  |  Swiss (Dino) 28/09/08
  2.   Gideon, Gideon, Gideon 10:05  |  SDHD 28/09/08
  3.   Gideon, on some other planet . . . 10:13  |  SDHD 28/09/08
  4.   Fitting that Levy says `if i were palestinian leader` 10:15  |  Steve Randolph 28/09/08
  5.   Hey Gideon, Israel can`t `make peace` without a peace partner 10:16  |  Steve Randolph 28/09/08
  6.   Typical Leftitst approach...act now, think later. 10:30  |  Gilad 28/09/08
  7.   Gideon Sounds The Same As Mideast Arabs Dictators . 10:40  |  Joseph.E 28/09/08
  8.   The purpose to deceive.The end to serve foreign interests. 10:44  |  Akram Zekaria 28/09/08
  9.   " the second most dangerous game after the war game -the "politic 11:25  |  Joseph.E 28/09/08
  10.   no point reading gideon levy 11:36  |  harzion 28/09/08
  11.   Stop pretending? wishfull thinking! 11:57  |  zorro 28/09/08
  12.   Amen! One state or two, make your choice, Israel 11:59  |  Ivar 28/09/08
  13.   ENOUGH indeed.Time for Pals to come clean on their charters 12:09  |  PETER SM 28/09/08
  14.   Don`t forget to rise The Wall 12:18  |  zorro 28/09/08
  15.   To Mr Dhimi #7 12:54  |  roberto 28/09/08
  16.   Two state solution is dead 12:56  |  Daniel 28/09/08
  17.   Idsrael is not,was not or never will be interested 13:00  |  Labhras 28/09/08
  18.   And what would you do if you were an Israeli leader, Mr. Levy? 13:01  |  Tzfonit 28/09/08
  19.   enough talk 13:08  |  rm 28/09/08
  20.   Randolph`s bunker 13:14  |  roberto 28/09/08
  21.   PAl leaders set the tone on day one."War of Annihilation" 13:16  |  PETER SM 28/09/08
  22.   2 options: An earthquake or Go out of Business 13:26  |  Dutch 28/09/08
  23.   daniel, it is not dead (yet) 13:38  |  roberto 28/09/08
  24.   What to do? - Part 2 15:57  |  Alicia 28/09/08
  25.   Enough talk 16:05  |  Julian 28/09/08
  26.   LEVY 16:21  |  michael 28/09/08
  27.   Jaw-jaw is always better tha war-war (Churchill 16:47  |  Mark E 28/09/08
  28.   Gideon Levy tells it as it is 17:05  |  B 28/09/08
  29.   Doesnt sound very democratic does it 17:17  |  Herbert Kaine 28/09/08
  30.   Doesnt sound very democratic does it 17:17  |  Herbert Kaine 28/09/08
  31.   Gideon you`re one of the minority allowed to talk freely 17:42  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/09/08
  32.   Sure SDHD, arm-chairing from California... 17:55  |  BBSNews 28/09/08
  33.   BBSNews, arm-charing from North Carolina 18:23  |  SDHD 28/09/08
  34.   What the anti-Israeli crowd doesn`t get 18:25  |  SDHD 28/09/08
  35.   Very good Tzfonit #18 ! 18:45  |  S 28/09/08
  36.   I just praised Tzfonit. Now I must praise Margie in Tel Aviv #25 18:52  |  S 28/09/08
  37.   Hi Gideon, nice to read you again 19:09  |  Edith 28/09/08
  38.   Gideon - Can Israelis live in Hebron??? 19:11  |  Dr eric 28/09/08
  39.   The third intifada is just around the corner 19:22  |  Bill 28/09/08
  40.   Bill: "Put Yourself in a Palestinian`s Shoes" 19:30  |  SDHD 28/09/08
  41.   What courage! Ein Boosha (no shame) in using creative metaphor... 19:31  |  Smadar 28/09/08
  42.   What the pro-Israel crowd doesn`t get... 19:40  |  BBSNews 28/09/08
  43.   Will Jews be permitted to build a Synogogue on the temple mount?? 19:41  |  Dr Eric 28/09/08
  44.   Bill gleefully expects a 3rd Intifada 19:42  |  Tzfonit 28/09/08
  45.   Gideon is Israel`s Greatest Advocate 20:15  |  Justice 28/09/08
  46.   #38 BBS-news: is 20% Israel 78% PA? 20:16  |  Alicia 28/09/08
  47.   # 1 Swiss , would you please list what Arabs 20:19  |  TOMY 28/09/08
  48.   What BBSNews doesn`t get 20:42  |  SDHD 28/09/08
  49.   Let`s get real. Negotiate? With whom? 21:00  |  THK 28/09/08
  50.   Bottom Line - Can Palestinians accept 80% of WB?? 21:04  |  Dr Eric 28/09/08
  51.   #38 Dr. Eric 21:14  |  Mark B. 28/09/08
  52.   Bravo Gideon 21:28  |  suzanne Sapir 28/09/08
  53.   #49 THK - bravo! 21:53  |  jason 28/09/08
  54.   #39...Bill 21:53  |  Nemesis 28/09/08
  55.   You win SDHD... 21:59  |  BBSNews 28/09/08
  56.   For Margie 3rd try- Eretz Nehederet website 22:00  |  Steve 28/09/08
  57.   Gideon Levy Yes 15 years have passed 22:07  |  Gil 28/09/08
  58.   Enough talk 22:14  |  Ralph 28/09/08
  59.   BSNews oversimpliphying the reality . 22:15  |  TOMY 28/09/08
  60.   DORIS.YOUR friends have tried the earthquake,repeatedly 22:16  |  PETER SM 28/09/08
  61.   Alicia, that`s just nuts... 22:19  |  BBSNews 28/09/08
  62.   "Count Dracula`s Younger Sister" 22:19  |  Steve 28/09/08
  63.   #45 Justice: Gideon is not the only one 22:25  |  Alicia 28/09/08
  64.   IVAR Israel made the 2 state choice 60 years ago 22:28  |  PETER SM 28/09/08
  65.   #61 Naqba means "catastrophy", so is this "fair" agreement 22:35  |  Alicia 28/09/08
  66.   That`s dimwitted TOMY... 22:40  |  BBSNews 28/09/08
  67.   #62 Steve, if what you write about Livni is true 22:46  |  Alicia 28/09/08
  68.   Babylon under Persian rule! 22:56  |  Paul 28/09/08
  69.   Again Levy shows his naievete 23:18  |  rich 28/09/08
  70.   Clean words 23:19  |  Darbacan 28/09/08
  71.   #51 Mark B 23:23  |  Leib 28/09/08
  72.   Thank you Steve 23:24  |  Margie 28/09/08
  73.   Tomy speaks the truth 23:30  |  Steve 28/09/08
  74.   bbs news we understand perfectly 23:40  |  judah 28/09/08
  75.   Good on you, Smadar 23:41  |  Ben Alofs 28/09/08
  76.   bbs news there is no fair agreement 23:42  |  judah 28/09/08
  77.   bbs news your post is just a kilogram of words 23:44  |  judah 28/09/08
  78.   bbs news "water is a critical issue" 23:46  |  judah 28/09/08
  79.   Gil Israel will pay for its disregard for others & the law 23:49  |  Dutch 28/09/08
  80.   bbs news "keeps you marginalised on the outside" 23:49  |  teacher 28/09/08
  81.   bbs news there are too many personal remarks in your posts 23:51  |  teacher 28/09/08
  82.   #45 Justice, hear hear 23:53  |  Ben Alofs 28/09/08
  83.   ben alofs smiles and smiles but is a villain 23:57  |  judah 28/09/08
  84.   # 47 TOMY 00:03  |  Swiss (Dino) 29/09/08
  85.   ben alofs "gideon levy is a prophet from the bible" 00:11  |  judah 29/09/08
  86.   #73 Steve 00:31  |  Ben Alofs 29/09/08
  87.   O I have just had a SNEEZE; Dutch must be talking about me again 00:32  |  Gil 29/09/08
  88.   #75 Ben Alofs, thank you 00:33  |  Smadar 29/09/08
  89.   #83 judah 00:37  |  Smadar 29/09/08
  90.   "Enough talk" by G.Levy 00:38  |  J.G. 29/09/08
  91.   BBS, Foes and Cheerleaders 00:53  |  THK 29/09/08
  92.   #83 The Lernaean Hydra rears its head again.... 01:01  |  Ben Alofs 29/09/08
  93.   Mnhon/Angels 01:10  |  paul 29/09/08
  94.   ben alofs " attacks debaters country" 01:57  |  judah 29/09/08
  95.   ben alofs "i am pretty good in psychiatry" 01:59  |  judah 29/09/08
  96.   #62 Steve...Arabs entered by the front lobby 02:05  |  Lynn 29/09/08
  97.   ben alofs "the entry of the pathetic arab military forces 02:08  |  judah 29/09/08
  98.   ben alofs tries to talk up the palestinian fighting ability 02:11  |  judah 29/09/08
  99.   simha flapan and ilan pappe 02:14  |  judah 29/09/08
  100.   Ben Alofs, you are right about #63 02:37  |  roberto 29/09/08
  101.   #96...Lynn 02:41  |  Nemesis 29/09/08
  102.   Jesusalen 02:52  |  cristian 29/09/08
  103.   Surprised Levy is Still Israeli, Is He? 03:02  |  Jane 29/09/08
  104.   Mark B. 03:07  |  Free Gilad Shalit 29/09/08
  105.   BBS NEWS - Jordan has nothing to do with it??? 03:19  |  Free Gilad Shalit 29/09/08
  106.   roberto "real right wingers do not like haaretz" 03:21  |  judah 29/09/08
  107.   roberto of mexico "recruited by zoa" 03:25  |  judah 29/09/08
  108.   roberto "paranoid media warfare" 03:28  |  judah 29/09/08
  109.   robert "despising the haaretz editorialists" 03:32  |  judah 29/09/08
  110.   BBS News You seem to be muddled 03:39  |  Free Gilad Shalit 29/09/08
  111.   Stalling and Stealing 03:55  |  Gray 29/09/08
  112.   Jane #103 04:04  |  roberto 29/09/08
  113.   FGS, Jordan has nothing to do with it... 04:13  |  BBSNews 29/09/08
  114.   FGS forgets 450 Arab villages destroyed by Israel... 04:19  |  BBSNews 29/09/08
  115.   J.G./London 04:22  |  SDHD 29/09/08
  116.   judah 04:28  |  roberto 29/09/08
  117.   roberto your post has no meaning 04:50  |  judah 29/09/08
  118.   roberto ben alofs and perhaps you too are haters of jews. 04:55  |  judah 29/09/08
  119.   roberto "i dont really care" 04:56  |  judah 29/09/08
  120.   roberto goes asking everyone if they are connected with zoa 05:00  |  judah 29/09/08
  121.   roberto why do you insist on calling the editor a pinko 05:01  |  judah 29/09/08
  122.   #99 judah What`s this?"many useful idiots like smadar in Israel" 05:10  |  Smadar 29/09/08
  123.   BBS News 114 05:28  |  Free Gilad Shalit 29/09/08
  124.   BBSLies 05:29  |  SG 29/09/08
  125.   Roberto What`s your problem 05:34  |  Free Gilad Shalit 29/09/08
  126.   DORIS if the Arabs had not ignored the" law`" We wouldn`t have 05:43  |  PETER SM 29/09/08
  127.   B.ALOFS Justice??" Islamic Republic of Palestine river to sea".? 05:48  |  PETER SM 29/09/08
  128.   Reply to 115 06:31  |  J.G. 29/09/08
  129.   Ben Alofs relies on Ilan Pappe (#86) 07:01  |  Steve 29/09/08
  130.   #50 That`s a pretty simpe question to answer, Dr. Eric 07:29  |  Johnboy 29/09/08
  131.   AFTER GEORGIA BLUNDER BY US AND ISRAEL, I`M OPTIMISTIC 07:35  |  indrajaya 29/09/08
  132.   Gideon Levy 07:37  |  Ralph 29/09/08
  133.   G. Levy for PA leadership! 07:39  |  Harry 29/09/08
  134.   Massive deployment of U.N. Peacekeeping soldiers 08:11  |  zorro 29/09/08
  135.   So RobertO tthe herO 08:55  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 29/09/08
  136.   Levy put it in a nut shell 08:55  |  Steve the Pals. 29/09/08
  137.   Alicia there`s no need to read Zeev 09:01  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 29/09/08
  138.   #136 Steve the Pals`s nutshell 11:19  |  Hastaroth 29/09/08
  139.   Johnboy AKA BBS News Comprehension Difficulties 13:55  |  Free Gilad Shalit 29/09/08
  140.   #139 Point of order, FGS 15:45  |  Johnboy 29/09/08
  141.   Madge, perhaps you can do the same with Tom Segev and Alicia? 18:49  |  BBSNews 29/09/08
  142.   Enough Said 05:31  |  N. Assad 01/10/08
 Read & React
Lebanon elite turns out to celebrate terrorist Samir Kuntar's engagement
Responses: 39
U.K. boycotts Israeli magnate over West Bank construction
Responses: 42
Amira Hass: U.S. aid to Gaza dwarfed by billions it gives to IDF
Responses: 28
Clinton: Netanyahu's 'economic peace' futile without diplomacy
Responses: 62
Gershom Gorenberg: AIPAC no longer has a monopoly of concern in U.S. for Israel
Responses: 20
Robbie Gringras: The eighth Jewish child - for Caryl Churchill
Responses: 5


More Headlines
17:47 Top Iranian commander: Our missiles can hit Israeli nuclear sites
16:33 Clinton: Israeli demolition of East Jerusalem homes violates road map
12:00 Revealed: German firm used hair from Auschwitz victims in textiles
17:04 U.K. embassy nixes move to offices of company behind West Bank construction
17:54 Murder-for-hire grips New York's Bukharan Jewish community
15:43 WATCH: Waltz with Bashir animator creates short-film on Gaza blockade
13:46 MK to IDF chief: Fire Navy commander over strip club jaunt
15:50 The Hague issues arrest warrant for Sudan's Bashir for war crimes
14:09 Housing Min. slams 'baseless' report of 73,000 new settlement homes
14:46 Israeli traveler, 24, killed in motorcycle accident in north India
14:06 IN PICTURES: Rescued from hunter's trap, she-wolf returns to the wild
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Spring Specials-Dan Hotels
Jerusalem from 179$. Tel-Aviv from 223$. Herzliya from 336$
Dead Sea Skin Care
Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
Summer in Israel
Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
Passover Vacations
The BEST Passover Vacations around ? Mexico, Arizona and Florida
Camp Kimama Israel 2009
The best place for your children this summer
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Jewish Singles Personal Ads
Find the love of your life on JDate.com
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | | Israel 2009 election results
Site rules | Makom: Engaging on Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved