Advice for Middle East Peacemakers

Peacemaking efforts in the Israeli Palestinian conflict have been at a near stalemate since September 2010. But the March “listening” trip of US President Barack Obama to the region gave rise, as expected, to hopes that the main broker of peace between Israelis and Palestinians will renew his efforts, even if no clear ideas were put forward then. The latest visit of Secretary Kerry to both Israel and Palestine seems to be designed to resume the effort of mediation on a basis that he did not declare a priori. 

For 20 years, peacemaking in the Middle East has involved leaders, diplomats, political advisers and public figures. On the whole, and in spite of good intentions, they were not able to devise the right tactics and strategies to overcome the outstanding obstacles. One of the most frustrating things that plagued the process has been the dangerous tendency to start over every time the process comes to halt.  

Every new team almost had to start from scratch. Sharing experiences has been always in short supply.  As I belonged to that tribe of peacemakers from 2007 till 2012,  I can share some of the lessons learned from that experience. The following points are an attempt to assist in the ongoing process of harnessing useful ideas in the direction of resuming effective peacemaking efforts."

First: The resolve. What goes around as "conventional wisdom" that nothing can really move ahead unless both parties are “ready” and possess the “political will” to take the hard decisions and sign an agreement, is nothing but a negative argument solely designed for safe politics, not for bold action. In peacemaking, mediators all too often have to deal with adversaries that demonstrate zero or little will to accommodate the other, let alone reaching a deal. This attitude is especially true if one of them is not too bothered by, or rather comfortable with, the status quo. Such positions are often designed to serve the negotiating tactics when a political process eventually starts. However, a confident experienced mediator should not be dissuaded from pursuing the goal of bringing the parties closer, bridging the gaps between them and eventually closing a deal. If the current US administration is serious about resuming its peacemaking efforts, as it appeared during that presidential visit, the question of readiness of the parties and whether their political will exists should not control the minds and moves of those involved. In the Middle East, there may never be a “good moment” to make peace. All moments are challenging and fraught with danger and risky calculations and decisions. This is the unfortunate nature of our region which will hardly change. Waiting doesn’t make things better or easier, rather the contrary.