Time is running out for both sides to reach an equitable solution to the troubles in Palestine, reflects Mohamed Hakki Abba Eban is widely credited to have coined the expression that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. It sadly described the present situation rather aptly. Previously, the Palestinians were not prepared to accept an expansionist Israeli state in their midst and on their land and they made this known by every means possible. Today the situation is reversed. It is the Israelis now who are behaving like the Palestinians 30 years ago, obstructing every chance for peace. They would be wise to revise that worn out strategy today. For, in the very near future, there may not be any more opportunities to miss. Saudi King Abdullah's Arab initiative of 2002 is one opportunity which the Israelis missed once, but cannot afford to miss again. Much like with the offer of peace which Yasser Arafat received from Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President Bill Clinton at Taba, passing this peace offer by could have consequences that Israel will come to sincerely regret. As with the Arabs many decades ago, stubbornness today is likely to lead only to an ever worsening environment tomorrow. Since their latest war in Lebanon, Israelis are sending subtle hints that they may after all be interested in the peace initiative presented by King Abdullah almost five years ago. Their intentions are by no means clear yet, but they seem to be flirting with the idea that negotiating a peace with Arab countries is likely to be the most successful route to eventually achieving peace. We hope, of course, that they will pursue this route candidly and take up the chance of making peace with moderate Arab countries. The importance of this cannot be underestimated as, in one or two years' time, with no peace agreement in sight, the prevailing mood in Palestine and a number of Arab countries may have shifted enough to preclude any such agreement being made for many years to come. Palestinians may not deem even the 2002 Arab initiative acceptable anymore. The elected Palestinian government today is already trying to distance itself from such an agreement but other Arab states are cannily pushing for an overall peace in the area. Fortunately the Americans and the rest of the world are also beginning to realise the high cost and worldwide economic impact of continued conflict in the Middle East. Commentators in Western newspapers and guests on American political talk shows are beginning to express the idea that Israel may be becoming a burden for the Americans, while Israelis also are realising that their own government is not telling them the whole truth. That tension must be resolved before, God forbid, Jews in the West are again viewed as a fifth column serving the interests of Israel rather than their home countries. The harder the Israeli right- wing makes it for voices of reason and moderation to be heard in Israel, the more difficult the conditions for making peace will be in the future. Further settlements and Israel's rising wall can only succeed at radicalising the Palestinians and losing what little trust Arabs were ready to invest in them. The West, which Israel so relies on for support, already views such actions in increasingly negative light. The rising price of Middle Eastern conflict to the rest of the world will only lead those countries to further question the wisdom of supporting Israel at all costs. Israel, if it chooses the road of peace, must finally prove to itself and to the rest of the region that it is a Middle Eastern country living amongst Middle Eastern people. Jewish people lived in Palestine, North Africa, Iraq and Egypt for many centuries and they belong culturally to the area. They should lead the way to emphasising their common heritage and creating links on a new basis between people in the region. It is further obvious that those countries that have influence with Israel should help Israel to take the right decisions. The country that is most suited to play a role is the United States. Unfortunately, the US made itself hostage to what it perceives that Israel desires, instead of what is good for the US and the area. Both Robert Malley, former special assistant to President Clinton and Aaron David Miller, who advised six secretaries of state on Arab-Israeli negotiations, addressed this problem in a piece in the International Herald Tribune, stating, "For a US administration that has essentially deserted the Arab-Israeli arena and in effect followed Israel's lead, this does not bode well. Yet it should be seen and seized as an opportunity for the US to define policies in the region that will promote its interest and can at least begin to undo the harm inflicted by six years of diplomatic neglect. None of this need come at the expense of Israeli interests; indeed, most of it would in fact serve Israeli peacemaking options over time." It is time for us all to seize an opportunity rather than to watch each other missing them time after time.
