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Last update - 09:34 09/05/2008
Israel needs tough love
By Jerome M. Segal
Tags: carter

Now that a few weeks have passed, we are better able to assess the significance of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's report, subsequent to his meeting with Khaled Meshal, that "Hamas will accept any agreement negotiated by Mr. [Mahmoud] Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, provided it is approved in a Palestinian referendum."

This may sound significant, but neither the Olmert government nor the Bush administration responded to the news with cartwheels. They might explain their lack of enthusiasm in this way:

Hamas has made similar declarations in the past, but has always said that a referendum must include the Palestinian diaspora worldwide, and it continues to say it will not recognize Israel and will insist on the right of return for refugees. So any Olmert-Abbas deal will be opposed by Hamas, and will likely lose in the referendum.
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Who is right here? Did Carter focus world attention on an overlooked but major opportunity to end the conflict? Or is this just more worthless, even dangerous, Hamas rhetoric?

The answer is: Jimmy Carter is right. Yes, Hamas has indeed said it will never recognize Israel, nor give up on the right of return. But, so what? In a demilitarized Palestinian state, Hamas will be a political party. Just like some of the crackpot parties in Israel, it can have whatever ideology it wants, so long as it obeys the law. And if Hamas is saying it will accept a ratified treaty as binding law, that is a very big deal.

But what about the argument that any reasonable treaty, from the Israeli point of view, will fail in a referendum? Here is where we fail to recognize that we are in the presence of a viable Hamas peace offer. It's what Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh meant when, in a secret letter to President Bush that I delivered in June 2006, he wrote, "We are peacemakers, not warmongers."

It's true that Hamas can be expected to oppose any "reasonable treaty," as Haniyeh wrote then. What this means is that the price of peace has gone up, and that Abbas has a stronger hand. If Fatah and Hamas can institutionalize the ratification-by-referendum framework, Abbas will then be able to tell the Israeli leader: "You can force me to accept this or that humiliation, but if you do, the treaty's likely to fail in the referendum." A treaty that will win overwhelming support will come with a high price.

That price will be worth paying, though, if it brings an enduring peace. In my judgment, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be ended - quickly, truly and lastingly - on the following basis:

b Israel gets real security - guaranteed by Egypt, Jordan and the U.S. - and the Palestinian state is largely demilitarized.

b Israel and the Palestinians agree that ultimate sovereignty over Jerusalem's Old City, including the Temple Mount, belongs to God (polls show Hamas' followers would support this). Both sides would agree to disagree on political sovereignty, but would work out a viable administrative agreement not too different from what exists today.

b Further, Israel will be recognized throughout the Arab world, and there is reason to believe that Iran too would accept and respect the results of a Palestinian referendum.

b Finally, Hamas agrees that if it comes to power, it will abide by obligations of any treaties ratified by referendum among Palestinians worldwide.

But for the above to happen, Israel would have to make major concessions, which I envision as follows:

b Israel would have to evacuate nearly all of the West Bank, with any lands that it holds onto being leased, in exchange for lands within Israel that would be leased to Palestine. Any Palestinians living on leased Israeli land would do so as permanent residents, not citizens.

b Any 1948 refugees still alive (but not their descendants) would be permitted to return to Israel and would be provided with the means to make an offer to buy their lost homes from the present-day owners. The youngest of those would be 60 years old today, and in another 20 years, few will still be alive.

b Most of the refugees would receive financial compensation from Israel. Perhaps one-third of Israel's economic growth over the next decade would need to be channeled into compensation to refugees. Painful yes, but impossible, no.

Just about now, you are probably saying: Israeli politics will not sustain such a deal, and no prime minister would agree to it. The mistake we make is that we think this is the boundary of reality. It's not.

The U.S. has to go into "tough love" mode, and say to the Knesset: "Boys and girls, this is the price of peace, this is what you have to pay. Grow up." If necessary, President Bush can threaten to wake up Uncle Sam. That's a rotating role. The president's father, George H.W. Bush, played Uncle Sam when he risked his second term to butt heads with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir over continued settlement construction in the West Bank. He was also Uncle Sam when he faced down one thousand lobbyists from AIPAC, as he put it at the time, presenting himself as the lone sheriff facing the mob.

This time Uncle Sam would be able to say to Israel, "Not only is it in your interest to take this peace deal, it's in the U.S. national interest that you do so."

If President George W. Bush can find his inner Uncle Sam, Israeli politics will undergo an earthquake. Remember, David Ben-Gurion accepted a state with no sovereignty in Jerusalem at all.

For some reason, Bush fears doing so, so that Israelis will have to ask for that tough love. And for this there is precedent: Early in his first administration, Shlomo Ben-Ami, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Yuli Tamir wrote a letter to President Bush, urging that the U.S. put on the table a fully drafted American proposal along the lines of the Clinton parameters and "vigorously" encourage its acceptance. Today that appeal for tough love needs to be renewed - 100-fold.

Jerome M. Segal directs the Peace Consultancy Program at the University of Maryland's Center for International and Security Studies.
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  1.   Bush Doesn`t Have it in Him 09:53  |  Mark of Lewiston 09/05/08
  2.   Jerome Segal 10:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  3.   A neutral country is needed 10:20  |  ghostoflutherblisset 09/05/08
  4.   Peace as an intellectual evercise 10:24  |  Natallie Durson 09/05/08
  5.   MOre `please rape my country` drivel from Haaretz 10:37  |  Freethinker 09/05/08
  6.   Sure recepie for Israel demise 10:43  |  Eugene 09/05/08
  7.   Exellent Article 11:05  |  Palestinian in UK 09/05/08
  8.   But the US and especially Bush do not want peace 11:07  |  El-Birawi 09/05/08
  9.   Flawed 11:09  |  Lev 09/05/08
  10.   Useless Idiot 11:16  |  S 09/05/08
  11.   # 4, # 5 11:35  |  Vinegar Hill 09/05/08
  12.   #5, S, exactly 11:41  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  13.   Not an academic 11:54  |  PS 09/05/08
  14.   # 2 Wrong, Cipora, Mr. Segal speaks for "legions" of people.... 11:56  |  Swiss (Dino) 09/05/08
  15.   It`s Not A Conflict 11:56  |  Mike Friedman 09/05/08
  16.   Pathetic Jews 12:02  |  Sam 09/05/08
  17.   the little messanger from obscure academia 12:08  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  18.   # 12 Sorry again, Cipora, but I doubt very much...... 12:17  |  Swiss (Dino) 09/05/08
  19.   Israel needs 12:18  |  Ralph 09/05/08
  20.   #14, Dino, wrong and absolutely wrong 12:19  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  21.   Swiss: "we are the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY" 12:24  |  Freethinker 09/05/08
  22.   This Guy Needs Professional Help - He`d Be a Great Meretz Leader 12:29  |  Tod Zuckerman 09/05/08
  23.   On 2d Thought , He Is Probably Working for the Obama Campaign 12:35  |  Tod Zuckerman 09/05/08
  24.   Saving us from Knesset Crackpots 12:55  |  Palestinian in UK 09/05/08
  25.   Fascinating 13:10  |  chaim 09/05/08
  26.   Excellent proposal. One problem 13:29  |  examiner 09/05/08
  27.   "Tough love" also means Pals will have to accept Jewish state 13:29  |  Sam 09/05/08
  28.   By this criteria you would have done a deal with 1932 Nazi Party 13:37  |  Burned Liberal 09/05/08
  29.   Children`s crusade part 2 13:43  |  Ilan 09/05/08
  30.   Israel needs tough love 13:45  |  Julian 09/05/08
  31.   Cipora,Jerome Segal is entitled to his opinion 13:46  |  Ronnie Wolman 09/05/08
  32.   # 2 Who are you? 13:48  |  Vinegar Hill 09/05/08
  33.   Return the WB to Jordan: let Jordan found a Pal-state in the WB 13:56  |  AliciaYasmeen 09/05/08
  34.   News flash for Jerosme Segal -- We tried this already 14:03  |  Josh 09/05/08
  35.   # 21 Freethinker 14:10  |  Swiss (Dino) 09/05/08
  36.   Excellent proposal. One problem 14:56  |  examiner 09/05/08
  37.   Final solution to Palestinian conflict 15:08  |  Raed Kami 09/05/08
  38.   This elite "jerk" is at it again. In 1988 he pushed the notion 15:23  |  I still remember 09/05/08
  39.   Segal - The blind attempting to lead the blind. 15:30  |  common sense 09/05/08
  40.   Cipora is spewing rejectionist rhetoric again. 15:38  |  Ibrahim 09/05/08
  41.   Hamas will not recognize Israel... 16:08  |  Walter 09/05/08
  42.   segal`s proposal 16:49  |  alex 09/05/08
  43.   Who`s going to demilitarize the state? Segal? What a joke 17:19  |  McQueen 09/05/08
  44.   Who`s going to give the Palestinians tough love? Segal? 17:22  |  McQueen 09/05/08
  45.   #1 Mark of Lewiston 17:29  |  Rozz 09/05/08
  46.   tough love for israel 17:37  |  elliot 09/05/08
  47.   Julian needs a history lesson 17:40  |  Ibrahim 09/05/08
  48.   Swiss (Dino) and `raising one`s finger` 17:40  |  Freethinker 09/05/08
  49.   Reality and Convenience 17:54  |  Ronnie Wolman 09/05/08
  50.   Israel needs to protect Jewish lives 17:56  |  David Hoffman 09/05/08
  51.   "Reasons he`s wrong... 17:57  |  Gray 09/05/08
  52.   Of Course 18:19  |  Danite 09/05/08
  53.   # 48 Freethinker, I love to learn........ 18:21  |  Swiss (Dino) 09/05/08
  54.   S #10 I don`t speak in your language. Stop faking. 18:33  |  S 09/05/08
  55.   Wrong, Segal needs tough love - sado/maso, 18:38  |  17 09/05/08
  56.   Sorry Cipora #12 It wasn`t me. 18:39  |  S 09/05/08
  57.   More self-delusional tales from a Leftist Appeaser 18:43  |  The Historian 09/05/08
  58.   And another thing, Swiss 18:46  |  Freethinker 09/05/08
  59.   Segal sees nothing 18:51  |  bart 09/05/08
  60.   Butting heads 19:00  |  David 09/05/08
  61.   Pals,flock to Svitzerland where Dino`d change diapers on your old 19:22  |  Absolute Sweden 09/05/08
  62.   Today`s Lebanon chaos is the indication of Segal being wrong (1) 19:42  |  Genuine Tosefta 09/05/08
  63.   The way I read this 19:49  |  hollingsworth 09/05/08
  64.   To Mr Segal.. Try to be elected on this program 19:50  |  Altalena 09/05/08
  65.   Today`s Lebanon chaos is the indication of Segal being wrong (2) 19:57  |  Genuine Tosefta 09/05/08
  66.   The missing "evolution" 20:00  |  Tosefta 09/05/08
  67.   What is Slowman doing in the supermarket? 20:16  |  Israel Segal 09/05/08
  68.   Great article! + Responses to Natalie Durson and Ibrahim 20:16  |  Reuben Jacobs 09/05/08
  69.   Now who is the weaker party again? 20:26  |  Jordan Magill 09/05/08
  70.   mr. segal youre right but... 20:32  |  ravi 09/05/08
  71.   Cipora #12 #5S was not me. I don`t insult. 20:52  |  S 09/05/08
  72.   Hamas needs neither Carter nor Segal to tell the world what - 20:57  |  ivo 09/05/08
  73.   With a Frontal Lobotomy, Segal can write a good column 21:25  |  smarter then segal 09/05/08
  74.   #31, Ronnie Wolman 21:34  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  75.   #51, S 21:44  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  76.   Response to El-Birawi 22:49  |  Israeli 09/05/08
  77.   "Israelis will have to ask for that tough love" 22:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  78.   "Remember, David Ben-Gurion accepted....." 22:59  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  79.   "Bush can find his inner Uncle Sam" 23:03  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  80.   "the lone sheriff facing the mob" 23:07  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  81.   "US national interest" 23:10  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  82.   "Israeli politics will undergo an earthquake" 23:19  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  83.   "not only is it in your interest" 23:24  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/05/08
  84.   Treaty Law higher than .... 23:24  |  buphagus 09/05/08
  85.   Cipora you are getting carried away here 23:47  |  Ronnie Wolman 09/05/08
  86.   Ibrahim #47 23:48  |  mikeber 09/05/08
  87.   MR. Jerome M.Segal, Well thoughts points but for one point. 23:56  |  Hamza 09/05/08
  88.   # 3. Very good suggestion, UR a Darling 00:01  |  Angel 10/05/08
  89.   Cipora 00:22  |  danite 10/05/08
  90.   Extremly Good Proposals from you MR JM Segal 00:22  |  Hasmid 10/05/08
  91.   Ibrahim 00:24  |  Danite 10/05/08
  92.   Good idea 00:27  |  One grass root 10/05/08
  93.   Ziono-no-no-never 00:33  |  Gray 10/05/08
  94.   Demilitarized Palestinian State ... 00:38  |  EZ 10/05/08
  95.   Interesting article, but... 00:47  |  joki 10/05/08
  96.   The two-state solution is dead 00:48  |  Montrealer 10/05/08
  97.   Cipora Julianna Kohn-echoes 00:57  |  John Syracuse 10/05/08
  98.   Demiliterized Palestine?Only if Israel does too 02:13  |  betz55 10/05/08
  99.   Cipora Julianna Kohn-echoes 02:13  |  John Syracuse 10/05/08
  100.   45 Rozz - On Bibi 02:42  |  Mark of Lewiston 10/05/08
  101.   danite is right 02:44  |  Waleed 10/05/08
  102.   Hamas charter calls for KILLING Jews and PA supports this 03:14  |  David 10/05/08
  103.   This liberal Democrat says.... 03:23  |  Joshua 10/05/08
  104.   # 63 hollingsworth - "The way I read this" 04:00  |  17 10/05/08
  105.   Jerome Segal needs to learn history and current political events 04:19  |  Sol 10/05/08
  106.   The simple truth 05:39  |  Mark Lincoln 10/05/08
  107.   That having been said 05:41  |  Mark Lincoln 10/05/08
  108.   I usually agreed with Jerome Segal`s approach 06:01  |  Smadar 10/05/08
  109.   #89, Danite 06:39  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 10/05/08
  110.   #14 Swiss. Segal certainly doesn`t speak for most Americans. 08:45  |  Chaim 10/05/08
  111.   # 61 Absolute Sweden, 4 numbers for you should do it..... 09:21  |  Swiss (Dino) 10/05/08
  112.   Mikeber #86 regarding Israel never accepting a formula 09:56  |  Palestinian Prince 10/05/08
  113.   it`s all game theory 10:16  |  mr. question 10/05/08
  114.   # 110 Chaim 10:44  |  Swiss (Dino) 10/05/08
  115.   #114, Dino, the Eurocentric 11:14  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 10/05/08
  116.   Israeli, why not work together on this. 12:46  |  El-Birawi 10/05/08
  117.   To Palestinian in UK # 24 - `Tough Love` does not qualify . 13:15  |  Dolly 10/05/08
  118.   #29 llan and adults 13:28  |  adult 10/05/08
  119.   # 115 Cipora Julianna Kohn 13:29  |  Swiss (Dino) 10/05/08
  120.   To Palestinian Prince 13:45  |  Israeli 10/05/08
  121.   To Waleed 13:51  |  Israeli 10/05/08
  122.   To Palestinian in UK 24 - Palestinians..... 13:52  |  Dolly 10/05/08
  123.   On Reality and reliability (Bird from Outerspace #74; re RWolman) 15:55  |  Tosefta 10/05/08
  124.   Dolly - you are very ignorant 16:12  |  Sylvie 10/05/08
  125.   Tosefta#123 re `proof` 16:56  |  John Syracuse 10/05/08
  126.   Tosefta#123 re `proof` 17:31  |  John Syracuse 10/05/08
  127.   Cipora 18:25  |  Danite 10/05/08
  128.   Palestinian Prince#112 18:43  |  Danite 10/05/08
  129.   Not a matter of Cipora being tired (John Syracuse #125) 19:31  |  Tosefta 10/05/08
  130.   #112 Palestinian Prince, Is it correct? 20:14  |  Bruce 10/05/08
  131.   Palestinian Prince, history lessons 20:21  |  Bruce 10/05/08
  132.   #8 LOLO LOL LOL 21:04  |  TOBIA 10/05/08
  133.   A breath of fresh air enters the fetid back room brawl 21:34  |  Panther Jet 10/05/08
  134.   Israeli #120 we gave you hope at Camp David ages ago 21:35  |  Palestinian Prince 10/05/08
  135.   Bruce, check out the archives on Haaretz 21:40  |  Palestinian Prince 10/05/08
  136.   Bruce, that doesn`t give you the right to remove a native people 21:44  |  Palestinian Prince 10/05/08
  137.   Prisoners in Paradise 21:52  |  Panther Jet 10/05/08
  138.   The Truth is needed before any Love. 22:01  |  Akram Zekaria 10/05/08
  139.   Segal`s "creative" ideas aren`t very good - 1 22:01  |  ivo 10/05/08
  140.   Segal`s "creative" ideas aren`t very good - 2 22:18  |  ivo 10/05/08
  141.   Refugees? 22:22  |  Leah 10/05/08
  142.   some lies 22:41  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 10/05/08
  143.   Mark Lincoln "Simple Truth" or "Big Lies". 23:36  |  Akram Zekaria 10/05/08
  144.   peace and free love ended in the 60s & this is fantasy 00:12  |  zionist forever 11/05/08
  145.   # 139 / # 140 ivo 00:44  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/05/08
  146.   RENEGADE SEGAL IS STILL AT IT... 01:08  |  VICTIMSofARAB TERROR 11/05/08
  147.   Compensation 01:16  |  Duncan 11/05/08
  148.   Why I`m "obsessed" with Israel. Cipora, et al 01:30  |  Gray 11/05/08
  149.   Why is Slowman so slow on Fridays? 02:14  |  Jerome Israel 11/05/08
  150.   ivo 03:19  |  examiner 11/05/08
  151.   137 03:19  |  zionist forever 11/05/08
  152.   66 03:35  |  zionist forever 11/05/08
  153.   An intelligent individual? 03:51  |  howiej 11/05/08
  154.   Many holes in Segal proposals 04:25  |  sweis Melbourne 11/05/08
  155.   Palestinian Prince... 04:28  |  mikeber 11/05/08
  156.   Gray-"Why is Israel obsessed with extorting US money and blood"? 04:36  |  Sam 11/05/08
  157.   to Duncan #146 04:45  |  mikeber 11/05/08
  158.   Mr. Segal - Please answer these questions 06:31  |  Gerald Deitsch 11/05/08
  159.   Pissing into the wind 07:11  |  Mark Lincoln 11/05/08
  160.   Sam, brevity, #147 & "civil debate" 07:22  |  Gray 11/05/08
  161.   "Legions" of idiots like Jerome Segal and "Dino" # 14 07:37  |  Fortuna Benmayor 11/05/08
  162.   #146 Why is "we", Duncan? 07:46  |  Johnboy 11/05/08
  163.   #161, Fortuna Benmayor 08:32  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/05/08
  164.   Cipora JK 09:27  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 11/05/08
  165.   #164, Margie 10:46  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/05/08
  166.   # 161/# 163 Fortuna and Cipora, our "Likud senior club"..... 11:40  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/05/08
  167.   Dino #145 13:01  |  ivo 11/05/08
  168.   Cipora JK to Margie 14:22  |  Roo 11/05/08
  169.   # 167 ivo 14:31  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/05/08
  170.   examiner #150: the wheel is already there, why reinvent it? 14:34  |  ivo 11/05/08
  171.   ivo-Geneva and Segal 17:24  |  examiner 11/05/08
  172.   Dino #169: one more word - 17:35  |  ivo 11/05/08
  173.   examiner #171: again you`re putting undue empahsis on the US - 18:04  |  ivo 11/05/08
  174.   #114 Swiss. Israel is wielding the "demographic hammer". 20:15  |  Chaim 11/05/08
  175.   ivo 21:24  |  examiner 11/05/08
  176.   examiner #175 00:38  |  ivo 12/05/08
  177.   ivo-aipac 13:59  |  examiner 12/05/08
  178.   #134 - native peoples 17:58  |  Buphagus 13/05/08
  179.   examiner #177: can`t be as bad - 18:53  |  ivo 13/05/08
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