Peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict is still a hope rather than a certainty, which President George Bush appeared to convey at the Aqaba summit. The prime ministers of Israel and Palestine have accepted working formulas to move forward along the promised road map, which would create two independent states living together in peace. Few, if any, maps ever indicate the reality of the roads they depict; and this road map is no exception. What is certain is that the road ahead would be difficult even if the map gets clearer. Both prime ministers stopped short of committing themselves to any position close to the expectations of the other side. This is not surprising since quite some distance would have to be traversed before the Israelis and Palestinians could walk that road in peace with justice.Israel prime minister, Ariel Sharon, accepted that unauthorised settlements of Israelis in West Bank and Gaza would be removed but gave no indication of other settlements while talking about the territorial contiguity of the Palestine state. He has accepted a “viable” Palestinian state but stopped short of endorsing its future sovereignty. Palestine’s prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, has promised an end to violence and terrorism which he stated was “against our religion and moral traditions”. He promised to “exert all our resources to end the militarisation of the intefada”, but did not commit himself to disarmament of the Palestinian cadres. He has set forth the demand for a sovereign state but has not endorsed the idea of Israel’s right to exist as a “Jewish state”.Most Indians would have serious reservations about the principle of two independent states created on the basis of religion, given our Partition history. But like we accepted the creation of Pakistan without conceding the two-nation theory, we will need to adopt a pragmatic approach to the evolving situation in the Middle East. Our interest and stakes clearly lie in seeing a honourable, durable settlement of the issues involved. Of the greatest importance is the right of Palestinians to live in dignity, freedom and peace. Given the historical background of the conflict, concerns about the prospects of such a development taking concrete shape in the short term would remain. The silver lining may yet be the role of the US. After the Iraq war, President Bush will be under pressure to find a just solution in the Middle East as early as possible.
