Barak seems to be a big disappointment not only to the people of Israel who voted him to power but also to the international community. He got stuck where Netanyahu did in the past. The people all over the world ask: Do we see a change of old wine in a new bottle in the last Israeli election?
W HEN Ehud Batak was elected as Prime Minister with a landslide victory in May last year, his poll rate was 59 per cent among the Israelis. He was the most decorated soldier in Israel and he spoke right kind of words about bringing peace in Israel with the Palestinians and Syrians. His V-shaped smile that adorns his face was considered to be one of confidence and trust to the Israelis.
Almost a year after his election, the poll'rate dropped to 40 per cent and Bibi' Netanyahu s support is rising, only 3 per cent behind the declared support for Barak.
The question is: Why did it occur?
There is a saying that every-thlng changes. nothing changes. It applies in case of Ehud Barak. He came to power with a big bang. People expected change for the better. What do they witness? Failure
He failed to produce peace settlement with the Syria and the Palestine Authority. His single-mindedness appears to become the root of problems. Some say he is a victim of his
image. He wants peace but on his terms. As In the case with most human endeavours they do not conform to the neatness of mathematics. There is a view that Barak needs to take his head out of the clouds long enough to think of all consequences of his actions. His goal should be to seek a common ground that means each side must appreciate the concerns of the other and then he will be able to build bridges and not barriers.
History has a bearing here. The creation of Israel is considered as history's poisoned gift to the Middle East during the last century. It had injected volatility and uncertainty in the region. War after war was fought between Israelis and Araos to claim the Palestinian land.
Millions of Palestine people were uprooted from Israel in 1948 and had been living in Lebanon and Jordan. They nave no right to return to their homelands. Barak appears to remain in entrenched position on the fundamentals of peace— such as the status of Jerusalem.
the expansion of Jewish settlement in West Bank, the fate of Palestine refugees, the amount of land of the West Bank to be returned to the Palestinians and the return of Golan Heights to Syria.
Although Barak is expected to withdraw the troops from the Southern Lebanon by July 7 in accordance with the UN Resolution 425. there is a view that without the peace deal with Syria, it might run the risk of further destablising the area and by definition the wider region.
What we are witnessing is the rule of the strong and not fairness and Justice. Barak refuses to compromise on Jerusalem and is committed to expanding Jewish settlements in West Bank and Golan Heights and expects further concessions from the Arab side. One Palestinian Cabinet Minister Hassan Asfour was reported to have said: "We have nothing new to add. There is no more room for flexibility".
The US Administration has been trying hard to make a comprehensive peace deal by
September this year and negotiations have resumed this week between Israelis and Palestinians under the watchful eye of US Special Envoy Dennis Ross. The US Secretary of State Madam Albright intended to travel to the region to ensure 'intensive work' in the next six to eight weeks.
The danger appears to be twofold: first the peace talks with Syria had collapsed and does not seem to be any move for its resumption.. Second, the timeframe of peace deal with the Palestinians by September appears to be Impossible unless Barak intends to compromise on the fundamentals.
Barak seems to be a big disappointment not only to the people of Israel who voted him to power but also to the International community. He got stuck where Netanyahu did in the past. The people all over the world ask: Do we see a change of old wine in a new bottle in the last Israeli election?
The author, a Barrister, is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN. Geneva.