New U.S. Plan for Peace

The news was delivered by Ehud Barak: The United States has elaborated a new plan for peace, soon to be submitted for review by the different parties. The Israeli Minister of Defense released this information to the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the Knesset. He went even further by asking Israel to rally behind the plan. Confirmation by the U.S. was prompt.

George Mitchell does not linger. In fact, he acts very quickly. Knowing that both the tranquility, which has prevailed for a while in the Near East, and Barack Obama’s arrival at the White House represent unprecedented advantage points that must be acted upon. The U.S. emissary, who is very knowledgeable about the region, wrapped up a new peace plan in less than six months.

The existence of this new road map was divulged to the Knesset last Tuesday by Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak. This is the man who destroyed the Oslo Accords and refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat at Camp David in the year 2000, despite the insistence of U.S. President Bill Clinton. The announcement coming from Ehud Barak may be a bad omen, regarding the contents of the future U.S. plan, especially since the head of the moribund Israeli workers’ party immediately called upon his country to rally to the plan.

But that’s not counting the tenacity and pugnacity of George Mitchell, who has always wanted to come up with a peace accord, at any cost, in a region where so far all the best intentions in the world have failed. Warning signs show that Palestinians as well as Israelis have made some necessary changes to allow for this plan to come to fruition in a painless manner.

On the Israeli side, there is insistent talk of casting aside – if not imprisoning – the current minister of Foreign Affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, whom George Mitchell considered someone not to be associated with because of his anti-peace ideals. On the Palestinian side, Fatah, which is currently holding its 6th Congress in Beit Lahm, has been particularly adamant about keeping out all those who have doubts about the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. This is why Mahmoud Abbas has categorically refused to organize this congress in Cairo or Amman, where various Palestinian factions wanted it to be held.

Meanwhile, on the U.S. side, when questioned about the imminent announcement of a peace plan by George Mitchell, P.J. Crowler, spokesman for the State Department led by Mrs. Clinton, replied without any more detail: “I believe that it’s a matter of weeks.”

George Mitchell, guided by Barack Obama and the international community, seems to have hit the heart of the matter. It now remains to be seen whether his new plan will have the same fate as its numerous forerunners, none of which have ever been implemented, or whether it will be the plan leading to peace – a peace that has become the one perennial missed opportunity in a region scarred by 60 years of war.