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Insistence on Prior Palestinian Reform Impairs Peace Prospects
Amman/Washington, 12 November 2002: The insistence of the international community on reform of Palestinian institutions as a precondition for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement is impairing the chances of a settlement being reached. In the coming weeks the Quartet (EU, Russia, UN, U.S.) will discuss a three-phase draft U.S. roadmap for peace which contains details of Palestinian reform plans. It is therefore crucial that misunderstandings about the meaning of reform, and its role in the peace process, are addressed now. A new briefing paper published today by the International Crisis Group (ICG) examines the many interpretations of 'reform' as understood by the international community, regional actors and Palestinians themselves. The Meanings of Palestinian Reform also challenges common claims - principally from the U.S. - about the place of reform in peacemaking. ICG Middle East Program Director Robert Malley said: "Many of these assertions cannot withstand closer scrutiny and most reflect a misunderstanding of domestic Palestinian dynamics". For example, Washington has tended to conclude that the coincidence between President Bush's calls for reform and indigenous Palestinian pressure shows that a reform-first sequence is having the desired effect. Reform pressure is also often viewed in the West as synonymous with the marginalisation of Yasser Arafat and the rise of Palestinians with whom a peace agreement could more easily be reached. ICG points out in "The Meanings of Palestinian Reform" that the notion of a 'Palestinian reform movement' is itself misleading. Reform is being promoted by groups with competing and contradictory agendas that have little in common with one another and even less in common with the reform visions of the U.S. or Israel. Reform pressures are also not new. They have existed since the formation of the PLO and will no doubt outlast the latest calls. And no group has the ability or desire to touch Arafat as a symbol. Most importantly, unless there is a credible peace process in the offing, arguments for the kinds of institutional reform sought by the United States and others will be eclipsed by those advocating continued resistance, including by uniting with the radical Islamic opposition. The Palestinians' overarching goal is to end the Israeli occupation. Mouin Rabbani, ICG Senior Middle East analyst, said: "Israeli and U.S. involvement in the process during recent months has been, at best, counterproductive, and the continued political stalemate has led to a virtual suspension of reform. The most effective mechanism currently available to the international community in terms of encouraging reform is to foster genuine progress on the political front."
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