Mitchell - No Basis For Peace
US Senator Charles E. Schumer

The much-anticipated report by former Senator George Mitchell regarding Israeli-Palestinian violence was released on Monday amidst calls to use the report's recommendations as a basis for a truce and to eventually get the parties back to the negotiating table. While resuming peace talks is certainly a laudable goal, the Mitchell report falls far short of the honest balance needed to stop the cycle of violence and lay the foundation for new peace talks. In fact, it may even contribute to prolonging the conflict.

Although the report contains some constructive recommendations – calling for the resumption of security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and urging the Palestinian Authority to arrest terrorists operating from Palestinian-controlled territories – it fails to acknowledge the fundamental cause for the onset of eight months of violence: PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat's outright rejection of generous Israeli proposals for peace, and his decision to use violence to attain his goals. Until the truth about the real cause of the conflict is openly and courageously discussed, there will never be a foundation upon which to attain peace.

In urging both sides to "act swiftly to halt the violence" and "discourage incitement," the report treats those who initiate violence and those who respond to it equally, despite the fact that Israel has spent the past eight months responding to Palestinian incitement, violence and terrorist attacks. The truth is, Chairman Arafat has not only failed to renounce the violence, he and the Palestinian Authority have aided and abetted it. And by criticizing Israel for excessive force against "unarmed demonstrators," the Mitchell report tacitly supports one of Arafat's main strategies: to accrue as many casualties as possible in an attempt to turn world opinion against Israel. The cycle of violence will only stop when Arafat chooses to start leading the Palestinian people toward peace rather than encouraging them toward violence.

The report was equally disturbing in its recommendation that Israel offer gestures of goodwill – such as freezing all settlement activity – even before Arafat stops the violence. Issues like the future of settlements need to be formally discussed by the parties at the negotiating table with a final peace agreement in view, not as "confidence building measures" while the Israelis are staring down the barrel of a gun. Last July, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Arafat and the Palestinians their own state on more than 95 percent of the West Bank and Gaza, including Arab East Jerusalem, meaning the vast majority of Jewish settlements would have been dismantled. The Palestinians, led by Chairman Arafat, rejected the offer, and then decided to try to attain a better deal through violence and intimidation.

For Israel to offer any concessions in the face of violence and terrorism would not only be an affront to the scores of Israelis killed and wounded in recent attacks, it would give hope to Palestinian extremists who believe they can attain their goals through violence instead of good-faith negotiations.
If it were truly candid, the Mitchell report would have placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Palestinians for sparking and then failing to stem the rising tide of violence, and would have called upon Yasir Arafat to re-arrest the terrorists he released from prison, immediately cease the rhetoric of hate in the Palestinian media and schools, and begin preparing his population to accept the compromises necessary for peace. A candid report would have told Arafat he can no longer talk peace with Israel and the West, while talking jihad to his Arab brethren.

Secretary of State Colin Powell's stated desire to involve the United States in helping find a solution to the spiral of violence is encouraging, but I hope he will not use the Mitchell report's recommendations as a guideline.

The real solution to ending the cycle of violence is actually much simpler: the Palestinians must stop the shooting.