No Time for Finger-Pointing

After two weeks of often exhausting peace talks at Camp David, the Israeli-Palestinian negotiators came up short. The quest for an accord eluded them, despite President Clinton’s best efforts. But agreements were reached on a number of contentious issues, and the parties must build on those to maintain the process. This is not a time to sit back and apportion blame.

The breakdown of the talks Tuesday was no doubt a sad event for Clinton, who made every effort to broker a deal, and to those who had hoped the summit would clear the path to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. It was of course a day of disappointment also for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and their peoples. But the negotiators went to Camp David knowing full well they were facing problems they had not debated openly in the seven years of the on-and-off talks. Among the toughest were disputes over national boundaries, sovereignty and compensation claims of Palestinian refugees. However, it was the status of Jerusalem on which the talks foundered, as had previous talks.

Despite the ultimate failure, the two sides for the first time laid out many of the terms of peace, breaking some major taboos. As one Middle East expert put it, “The genie is out of the bottle and no one will put it back in again.”

Barak showed a great deal of flexibility in offering concessions on key questions, including the future of East Jerusalem. But his proposals apparently did not go far enough for Arafat, who was under pressure not only from his own constituents but other Arab leaders claiming vital interests in Jerusalem’s fate. Arafat ultimately must come to realize that he too will have to compromise in order to arrive at a settlement.

The collapse of the talks is bound to usher the Middle East into a period of high emotions. Clinton failed to win a promise from Arafat to reject a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Frustration among Palestinians could trigger a wave of violence, and casualties are inevitable if Israel responds with heavy police action.

The two sides have set a deadline, Sept. 13, to reach a settlement. If they don’t, Arafat threatens to declare an independent Palestinian state, a move that would be likely to trigger a seizure of West Bank territory by the Israelis and perhaps ignite a conflict as explosive as the intifada of the 1980s. Any delay of the deadline would be helpful.

Clinton has promised to back up any deal with billions of dollars in U.S. aid, but it will take bold decisions by Barak and Arafat to reach peace. They have no time to waste on post-Camp David acrimony.