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Paris – The Middle East peace process faces its most severe crisis since the Oslo agreement. We cannot just close our eyes. Europe, France and the United States have a common interest in helpin preserve peace in the region.
We Europeans share with the United States a solid relationship with Israel and the Arab countries. Europeans are deeply commited to the security of Israel as well as to the full implementation of the Madrid peace principles : exchange of land of peace and self-determination for the Palestinians.
Beyond his historical and cultural bonds, Europe is Israel’s main trading partner. Once ratified by our national parliaments, the agreement already signed between the European Union and Israël will represent a landmark in our co-operation. We have been negotiating similar agreements wih the area’s Arab countries.
The Euro-Mediterranean framework is the only one wich Israel and its Arab neighbors can meet and talk. Like the United States, Europe aims to enhance a free flow of trade, the development of exchanges and initiatives, a close political dialogue, peace and stability.
Should such goals not to be reached – should dialogue be refused, rights denied and fear of terrorism enhanced – the consequences would affect us all, European and American.
Being geographically close to the area. Europe is probably more exposed to terrorism than the United States. But the World Trade Center bombing demonstrated that no country can pretend to be out of reach.
An aggravation of the present tensions could be detrimental to our common interests in at least three ways. First, violence could threaten our citizens soil of or property, on our throughout the world ; second, our allies could be destabilized ; third, our trade and energy markets could be disrupted ;
Therefore ; it is not only our frienship with the Middle East that should keep us from watching complacently as tensions, despair and threats of violence reappear in the Middle East. It is in our interest to act.
I have heard people argue that the demise of the peace process would not be such a catastrophe. Unilateral measures and military prevalence would ensure the ultimate superiority of one party. The resulting fait accompli would require no agreements.
I strongly believe such an approach is not only contrary decently and justice but is also fatally flawed. Security cannot be guaranteed simply by force : it must rest on an equitable and mutually satisfactory agreement. That such an agreement is extremely difficult to reech does not mean it is impossible. It does require dedication and imagination, howewer.
Israel’s Labor Party recently accepted the idea of a Palestinian state – provided, of course, that necessary precautions were taken to preserve the security of Israel. When President Jacques Chirac of France advocated such of state during a trip to Israel last October his declaration generated both applause and outrage. The present evolution within Israel shows he was right. A Palestinian state, in friendly coexistance with Israel, will be an element of stability in the region.
The road to peace is still rocky. The calm that seems to prevail in the Middle East now is deceptive and precarious.
I can see at least two ways in which it could be broken : in the Palestinian territories, serious violence could erupt any time : now, in a couple of weeks, in a few months, in a year. But i doubt it can be prevented indefinitly.
Another treacherous ground in the Israel-Lebanese border. Even through the monitoring group that the United States and France set up last year has proved much more effective in protecting civilians than we could ever have hoped, nobody can predict what will happen if a serious incident occurs.
Leaders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria are aware of this danger. But it cannot be eliminated before those three countries conclude real peace agreements. Preventing the use of the matches near a tank of explosive material is fine. But why not empty the tank once and for all ?
True, this is primarily the task of the concerned parties themselves. But if they cannot do it alone, it is our common responsability to help them and to try again an again. I am convinced that the United States has an essentiel role to play in this respect and that it can be greatly enhanced by U.S. cooperation with Europe.