Q-C Palestinians wary of peace in wake of war
Thomas Geyer
As international discussion about post-war Iraq intensifies, many Palestinians living in the Quad-Cities are increasingly wary about a road map to Middle East peace drafted by the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — a plan that envisions an independent and sovereign state of Palestine by 2005.
Local Palestinians agree that any final agreement must be forced upon the two sides.
But they also say that a primarily U.S.-backed government in Iraq would only benefit Israel and give the Jewish state an upper hand in future negotiations on what Palestinians believe are the four major obstacles to peace: the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland; the end of Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory; Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Gaza and West Bank territories to the pre-1967 borders; and East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
"For sure, the one that benefits the most from the Iraqi war is the state of Israel," said John Dabeet of Muscatine, a professor of economics at Muscatine Community College and president of the national AMPAL, or Americans and Palestinians for Peace.
"They have been pressuring the U.S. administration for some time to do something about Iraq," he said.
But, he added, both the Palestinians and Israelis will continue to lose if they do not consider the road map, "or any kind of peace initiative that will resolve the issue once and for all."
Dabeet stressed that the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan must be able to return to their homeland.
"That's a moral issue, not a political issue," he said. "And Israel has to be held responsible for creating that problem 54 years ago."
As for territory, Dabeet said that Palestinians at least want the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. "That's only 28 percent of historical Palestine," he said. "They won't be able to find any Palestinian who will negotiate to give up any of that 28 percent."
Bettendorf pediatrician Majdi Omar sees the Iraq war as weakening both the Arab world and the Palestinians at the negotiating table, even though both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have great doubts about what the end of the war will bring.
Omar said he can see things starting with a balanced plan. But given the current attitude in the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration, he believes Israel's demands would carry the most weight.
Of course, Omar said, one of the first things in a road map to peace is the selection of a Palestinian prime minister who will circumvent longtime leader Yasser Arafat.
And Palestinians feel that if Arafat has to go, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has to go, too, Omar said.
Jamal Tayh, a resident of Bettendorf and a chemistry professor at Scott Community College, warns that "Sharon won't like anything short of having everything."
Tayh said he believes the main issue at the negotiating table will be Jerusalem, where "Jews and Muslims compete for shared holy sites."
Surely, he said, the well organized and politically powerful American-Jewish community will pressure the Bush administration to take a pro-Israel stance.
And while the end result may not provide true justice for Palestinians, Tayh said, "if the international community doesn't force an agreement, there will be no agreement.
"Israel and Palestine will never agree."
Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com.