The director of one of the top UN agencies operating in the West Bank told me of a fascinating conversation he had with a senior IDF officer. “Do you know the difference between Areas A, B and C?” the officer asked. “Of course”, the director responded, citing published details of the 1995 Interim Agreement [between Israel and the Palestinians, also known as Oslo II). “Area A is a region under the complete control of the Palestinian Authority, Area B is under Israeli military control and Palestinian civilian control, and Area C is Israel’s responsibility. This applies until a permanent arrangement is reached.” The Israeli officer smiled and answered the foreign diplomat: “You’re wrong. A is for Arafat, B is for balagan [mess] and C (which covers 60% of the West Bank area, including all of the Jordan Valley, A.E.) is Chelanu [Hebrew for “ours”].

He wasn’t kidding. The words of the Israeli officer fully reflect the Israeli establishment’s attitude toward the Interim Agreement.

The traditional concern of the Israelis over Palestinian willingness to accept Israel’s existence in the region, nurtured by Arafat’s old “Phased Plan”, convinced the Israelis that a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians is only temporary. At the same time, the wave of settlement construction during the whole interim period taught the Palestinians that there are no greater experts than Israelis in turning the provisional into permanent.