By Meraj Abedin
Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, has a fear. It isn’t new Palestinian guerrilla tactics that scare him, nor is it the growing number of refusenik Israeli army officers. So what is Mr. Sharon so fearful of? Peace. Nothing threatens Sharon more. And that’s why I believe Mr. Sharon will reject the most recent and groundbreaking Saudi peace proposal and try to drown it in bloodshed and violence.
The main peace movement in Israel, Gush Shalom, ran ads in mainstream Israeli newspapers like the Ha’aretz calling the Saudi call for peace "a dream come true." Other Israeli newspapers echoed the same sentiments. The western world and the world at large welcomed and supported Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah’s initiative. Nearly every Arab nation-save Libya and Iraq-accepted the peace as outlined by the Crown Prince. Even the United States approved and reacted positively to the proposal.
The Saudi peace proposal isn’t that new. It calls for a return to pre-1967 borders and return of all illegally occupied land. Arabs have always asked for this and it is in accordance to UN Resolution 242.
What is new is that it calls for full and warm diplomatic and trade relations between Israelis and Arabs. This means that the Israeli flag could be flying in embassies from Rabat to Damascus.
Only Ariel Sharon and his hawkish government rejects the peace proposal. Sharon immediately ruled out pulling back to the 1967 borders. Such a decision makes sense when looking at a man of war like Sharon.
He has dedicated his life to war and expansion. He guided Israel into the catastrophic war in Lebanon during the 1980s and is an indicted war criminal, held responsible for the massacre of approximately 2,000 Palestinian refugees. Sharon was also the man who presided over the biggest building drive of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.
Sharon’s current policy seems to consist of escalating the violence in the hopes that, in the event of a major Mideast war, he would send in his army to expel the Palestinians once and for all. For Sharon, the Saudi peace proposal is a real party crasher.
Sharon was elected on the campaign platform of "peace and security." However, disillusioned Israelis have increasingly seen only insecurity and war. Uri Avneri, leader of Gush Shalom, told the BBC that "more and more people are disappointed of Sharon" and it shows in the polls. His approval has dropped dramatically from around 75 per cent to less than 50 per cent. Avneri believes Sharon must first be voted out before any peace initiative will succeed.
As the Israeli peace movement grows and Israelis become more and more fed up with the "war for the settlements," as many dissenting Israeli army officers call it, peace-real peace-could be a reality. If the Saudi proposal takes root it will make Sharon’s days numbered. Israelis must seize the Prince’s vision of peace. It is the only hope.
As long as Sharon is running things he will try his best to drive away the doves of peace. Coinciding with the announcement of the peace proposal Sharon recently ordered a massive assault on Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza leaving dozens of civilians dead, adding fuel to the fire and provoking more suicide attacks. All this points to Sharon desperately trying to drive the very idea of peace from the minds of Israelis.
It’s high time for Israel to realize the problem does not lie with irresponsible and impotent "leaders" like Yasser Arafat. The problem lies with demagogues like Mr. Sharon who have no real answers to the pressing problems of common Israelis and Arabs-problems that must be address before they collapse on the holy land.
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