NEWSWEEK: Is the Roadmap dead?
EREKAT: No, it’s not dead. But if we keep failing to implement it, it will join [previous peace initiatives like] the Mitchell report and the Tenet plan in the archives. That shouldn’t happen. I don’t understand why we haven’t seen the U.S. imposing the mechanism for implementation, a time line and so on. This is Powell’s third trip here. Why can’t he say: “You guys stay in your corner and you in your corner, you begin with a ceasefire by the following date and you withdraw on this date”?
Why isn’t Washington pressing harder on both sides?
I think they realize the difficulties inherent in Sharon’s reservations to the Roadmap. The [Bush] administration is very worried about not succeeding.
Are domestic political considerations a factor?
I thought this was true, but I’m not sure anymore. I was told by some people in the pro-Israel lobby in Washington that they wrote a letter saying they encourage President Bush to implement the Roadmap. So I’m not sure this is a big issue. In the Arab world after Iraq, all Arabs look at the Roadmap as a test for the U.S. They sent 350,000 troops to Iraq, why can’t they send 35 monitors to the West Bank? The U.S. will be judged not by how it made war in the region but whether it can bring peace.
There are finally direct meetings between Israelis and Palestinians and there is even talk of an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Gaza and Bethlehem is an agreement I reached with Israel 20 times. It has to go further. I’m afraid people will lose faith in this initiative if Powell keeps coming to the region without introducing a mechanism for its implementation and monitors. People don’t want to use their ears anymore [to listen to peace rhetoric], they want to see progress with their eyes.
We have seen Israel dismantle some outposts in the West Bank. How is that perceived among Palestinians?
People here want to see a full program, not some isolated measures. I’m afraid what Sharon is doing in the outposts might impress Israelis and Americans, but in the minds of Palestinians, this doesn’t constitute implementation of the Roadmap.
You’re focusing on the Israeli side, but the Palestinian side is also sputtering in efforts to get militant groups to stop the violence.
I asked Abu Mazen [Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas] what he’s going to do about Hamas. Because at the end of the day multiple authorities cannot be tolerated. A nation-state has to be based on zero tolerance for something like that. He’s counting on achieving a ceasefire and I hope he succeeds.
What are his chances of getting a truce with Hamas?
Since the day I was handed the Roadmap on April 30, I count 87 dead Palestinians and 51 dead Israelis. Those are scary numbers. So on the one hand Abu Mazen is pursuing a line of wisdom and courage. Can he succeed if Sharon continues his business of incursions and assassinations? I doubt it. Will Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad accept a ceasefire? There’s a real question mark.
Analysts here talk about the death of empathy–how each side refuses to acknowledge the other’s grief.
I was 12 years old when the occupation came to my hometown. I have never seen Palestinian-Israeli relations at as low a level as they are now. I have never seen more anger and hate. That’s why it’s so essential to have a third party involved, that’s why we need President Bush’s involvement.
What is it about U.S. policy toward Israel that so often angers Palestinians?
They see the U.S. treating Israel above the laws of man. They fund the Israeli Army and the occupation, and that’s it. But I believe that when Palestinians close their eyes and stop seeing Israeli occupation, they don’t have a problem with the Americans. The other issue is that America’s allies in the Middle East are not… big democrats. And there’s a real thirst for democracy now.
