The Washington Post published two somewhat informative interviews today, one with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the other with Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad.
The significantly more interesting interview with Fayyad largely deals with his role and his vision for the establishment of institutions for a future Palestinian state. He stresses that Israel had the institutions established prior to its declaration of independence in 1948, an effort that Fayyad wishes to further develop in the Palestinian territories. The notable questions and answers include (questions in italics, answers in normal font):
“So you have a plan to create institutions and a state within two years?
We’ve committed ourselves to a path of completing the task of institution building. [This means] the capacity to govern ourselves effectively in all spheres of government within two years.
So does that mean a central bank, roads?
It means all of that. We now have a monetary authority that is almost like a central bank. We have a public financial system that is well managed. It has won the confidence not only of the Palestinian people but certainly of our donors, including especially the United States.
What are the other institutions?
We are talking about security capability, law and order, including a well-functioning judiciary. Security is not complete unless there is a widespread belief on the part of the public that there is due process. . . .
Additionally, [we need] physical infrastructure to provide services effectively to our people in all areas — social services, health, education. . . . The idea behind this is to ensure that in a couple of years, it will not be difficult for people looking at us from any corner of the universe to conclude that the Palestinians have a state.
Do you think you should declare a state in 2011?
I said this will be the program of the Palestinian government — it will commit itself to deliver the state in terms of capacity within two years. That is new in Palestinian politics. Usually, when you have a new government, the norm is for the government to say, here is our plan, a wish list of things — not a real plan.
People have compared you to the early Zionists, who built institutions.
I keep telling people, Israel was not created in 1948. Israel was proclaimed as a state in 1948. The institutions of the state were there before 1948.
We look . . . to establish Palestine as an independent, democratic, progressive and modern Arab state, with full sovereignty over its territory, the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Palestine will reject violence, commit to coexistence with its neighbors.
You’re not a member of Fatah, are you?
No, I’m not.
But do you think of yourself as the Ben Gurion of the Palestinian people?
What I really want is for people to believe that this can happen. . . . We, more than anyone else, need good government. You know, let’s get on with it. To the extent that poor governance was used as a disqualifier, by doing it right, this is an instrument of liberation.
In mid-2007, I took over. I say to people, Two years ago I came to you and talked about this. I can understand it if some of you thought, ‘Sounds good, but it’s not going to happen.’ But here we are. This school is there. The water pump is [working]; electricity is on. And just as one school happened, the next one will happen.
It must include the Jordan Valley and what else?
The so-called Area C [controlled totally by Israel], including the Jordan Valley. We are not able to generate adequate resources because our economy is shackled by these restrictions.
I thought the economy was growing at something like 8 percent?
If not even more. It’s very good.
. . . But the question is, is this sustainable?
. . . The state we are looking for is not one that is perpetually dependent on aid. It is not realistic to expect the world to continue to pour cash in.”
Regarding Camp David 2000, Fayyad made another interesting comment that ties along with the criticism of Palestinian governance by many Israelis- the alleged lack of accountability for rejecting to improve the situation in the territories. Fayyad said:
“Surely [Yasser] Arafat could have accepted then-Prime Minister [Ehud] Barak’s offer?
It seems like the Palestinians are always turning down deals. . . . We end up kind of in a corner and it looks like it’s our fault it didn’t happen. A case in point is what happened in the settlement business.
. . . I think it’s important for there to be a freeze. How can people continue to buy into this process if they continue to see more settlement activity coming at the expense of expropriation of Palestinian land?”
Netanyahu said that the Israeli government and the Obama administration are actually cooperating on a much deeper level than generally reported. Netanyahu also reiterated the standard Israeli lines, but most interestingly said:
“Israel is not a binational state. It has non-Jews who live here with full, equal rights, but it has two things that assure its special character. It’s the homeland of any Jew. And there is a very broad consensus in Israel that the Palestinian refugee problem should be resolved outside Israel’s borders. Jews come here and Palestinians will go there. So choose. That’s the basis of a solution.
I gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University in which I said [this]. It wasn’t easy but I did it. There has yet to be a Palestinian leader who actually turns to his people and says, ‘We’re not going to have a state that will continue to make demands on Israel. It’s over. We recognize that Israel is the Jewish state just as we ask the Israelis to recognize the Palestinian state. . . .’
The popular explanation is that this conflict is about the territories captured in the 1967 war. So why did the conflict rage [when] there were no settlements? The Arabs fought wars and terror campaigns in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s against any Jewish state, and then they rejected the partition. Our presence in the territories is not the cause of the conflict but one of its results.
. . . I’m not talking about Hamas. I’m talking about the moderates. . . . We will end the conflict by establishing a state. That simple truth requires a lot of courage from the Palestinian leadership. They have to stand up and say we will make a final peace with the Jewish state of Israel. Courage is required on both sides.”
