My Brother’s Keeper

It is supposedly none of my business, since I am an Israeli. However, nobody who is concerned about peace in the Middle East can ignore any longer the status of civil and human rights in the Palestinian controlled territories. The arrest by the PNA of Palestinian leaders (See Mideastweb  for details) who signed a petition calling for elections and investigation of corruption in the PNA simply called attention to what everyone already knows.

Those who signed the petition are against the Oslo peace process. Perhaps they are really against it because it did not produce a great economic improvement, or because the PNA has not succeeded in getting important concessions out of Israel. Perhaps they would be against the peace process no matter what the outcome. In a democracy, it should be their right to express their opinion. If others disagree, they can present their case as well. As soon as the PNA resorts to force instead of persuasion, it has lost the argument in the eyes of its people and of the world.

It is a pity that opposition to Oslo has become confounded with opposition to repressive government, so that publicly it seems that only those who are opposed to peace are for democracy. I know that is not true, though I confess it is hard for me to prove what I know. I also know, and Israelis and Americans should understand, that the torture, intimidation and arbitrary arrests are not used only against those who oppose the peace process.

Inevitably, along with the drought, airline accidents and any other catastrophe in the Middle East, extremists blame the lack of democracy in the PNA on Israel and the United States. There is little we can do about that, of course. However, we should recognize that no peace will last very long if it does not express the will of a majority of the Palestinians. We cannot afford to let the cause of peace be identified with the forces of repression and darkness.

The Israeli and American governments and those of the EU countries cannot force democracy or good government on the Palestinians, but they can express their concern, and they could bring pressure to bear to release the signatories of the petition. In that context, the silence of the American and Israeli government in the face of glaring and continuing violations of human rights in the Palestinian controlled areas is deafening.

Ami Isseroff

Rehovot

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PEACE is a Mid - East Dialog Group commited to peace and neighborly relations.We have no official political opinions. PEACE was started by Ameen Hannoun, a Jordanian/Palestinian and Ami Isseroff, an Israeli. You are welcome to join, and to contribute ariticles and ideas for promoting peace and dialog.  More about PEACE.

An outsider looks at the Palestinian - Israeli Conflict - Anyone interested in creative solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must read this essay by Matthew Hogan PEACEMAKING VIA NON-IDEOLOGY or CONFESSIONS OF A PRO-ISRAEL ANTI-ZIONIST.

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