Short-Term Cold Peace, Long-Term Relations

Three fronts in the Arab-Israeli dispute appear to have the potential for considerable progress: the Israeli-Syrian/Lebanese fronts and the Israeli-Palestinian. This has important implications for other countries in the region, as well as for non-governmental activity.

The resumption of direct negotiations between Syria and Israel and the prospect for similar negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, both of which will likely result in peace agreements, are among the most significant developments since the beginning of the Arab-Israeli peace process. For the relationship between Israel and Syria, which has maintained its stability through mutual deterrence, the resort to settling violent conflicts at the negotiating table is quite an achievement. If this was to lead to agreements, Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon along with Syrian and Lebanese acceptance of normal relations with Israel would undoubtedly lead to warmer Egyptian-Israeli and Jordanian-Israeli relations as well.

The face-to-face negotiations that started in Washington between Israel and Syria are one example of the ascendance of pro-peace forces on both sides of the conflict. "Peace" is becoming a fact, regardless of vocal opposition from many quarters. As time and the momentum of the peace process have shown, it can be frozen or slowed, but it cannot be stopped.

The Israeli-Palestinian track is more fundamental. While disengagements are progressing and ambitious timelines are being set for resolution of final status issues, a lasting solution cannot come unless it is just. Peaceful relations cannot prevail when one people feels imprisoned by another and when the rights of one are severely curtailed by the other. It can only be hoped that the parties understand this.

Agreements between Syria and Israel and Lebanon and Israel, and resolution of Israeli-Palestinian final status issues are important steps in the healing that will be needed following this generations-long conflict.

Without a doubt, those who seek to create a true "culture of peace" in the region are still working for the long-term benefits of these negotiated agreements. The fact that the parties are engaging in peaceful negotiations is an important first step. Over time, the efforts of citizen and government groups can translate diplomatic and military arrangements into relationships based on respect as well as security. For, once official treaties are in force, it is the people living with those agreements who must make the benefits of peace more than solely the absence of war.