The Future of Palestinian-Israeli Relations

Moderator: Jaroslav Bureš

Guests: Hillel Shuval, Izzeldin Abuelaish, Irena Kalhousová, Luboš Kropáček, Jana Hunterová

 

 

 

Water Expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israeli opposition politician, Hillel Shuval, opened the discussion by outlining his vision of Israel and Palestine as two nations living side-by-side in security, mutual respect, and cooperation. These are also the goals of the Geneva Initiative, an unofficial peace agreement put together in 2003 by prominent Israeli and Palestinian personalities. Shuval highlighted the work of a Palestinian doctor, the late Dr. Fadia Diabes Murad, which exemplifies Israelis and Palestinians who “can and will work together to achieve an agreement.” According to Shuval, mutual understanding is essential for cooperation, especially of the Palestinian fear that Israel is not negotiating for peace, and the Israeli fear that there is no authority among the Palestinians to negotiate with. There is hope for reconciliation due to the growing involvement of world and regional leaders in the peace efforts, a shift in the direction of right wing leaders and particularly the “ground swell” from the general population. The efforts of President Barack Obama also play an important role in strengthening the sense of hope in the region.

 

For Izzeldin Abuelaish, doctor and peace activist from the Gaza strip, the real value lies in concrete steps towards peace, as “hope and willingness are not everything.” Using violent tools to achieve peace such as animosity, occupation or firing rockets to Sderot, “will never lead to any way,” said Abuelaish, pointing out that “anything which is built on force will not be sustained.” Further, the security of Israel cannot justify the building up of settlements on Palestinian territory. As a way to resolve the current situation, Abuelaish uses a comparison of curing a patient and searching for the possible causes of his problem, “the patient must be dealt with as one unity,” Abuelaish describes, “We must deal with the Palestinians and Israelis as one unity.” However, Abuelaish states that the meaning of peace still remains undefined.

 

Irena Kalhousová, of the Near East Programme, Association of International Affairs in the Czech Republic, concentrated on the role of the European Union in the peace process as a certain “protector” of the Palestinian cause. “On the one hand, Europeans talk about the creation of a Palestinian state, but they did not state how Israelis would be secured and not be attacked.” She also adds that until now, Europe has failed to recognise Islamic fundamentalism, “in the Koran, it is impossible to accept the fact that there will be a non-Muslim state,” she says. Regarding future development, Irena Kalhousová expects Israel to be increasingly seeing Europe as a positive partner, despite the current mistrust. The European Union will also undergo a shift in policy towards Israel due to the demographic changes among European populations, besides others, and will change its approach concerning the financial aid provided to Palestinians. “[Europeans] do not want to promote a corrupted movement. Europeans are realising that they must check where the money is going.”

 

Religious aspects of the Israeli-Palestine conflict were the focus of Luboš Kropáček, Professor at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. Although he sees the conflict as primarily a competition for land and resources, religion plays an important role in the Holy Land and is deeply intertwined with politics. Both sides of the conflict should therefore focus on that which is common to their religions. Kropáček noted that both the Hebrew Bible and the Koran promote similar ideals of peace as well as similar ideas of violence. The former should be searched for and “activated.” He pointed out the “golden rule,” whereby “one must do to the neighbour what they would want to be done to themselves,” contained in all religions of the Book.

 

Jana Hunterová, a photographer representing the Anna Lindh Foundation, briefly outlined her project of portraying the daily life of Palestinians and Israelis through photographs taken recently in the West Bank and Israel. She sought to capture both the religious culture as well as the political atmosphere.

 

At the end of the panel, the audience was given space to contribute to the discussion. The Egyptian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mrs. Amal M. Mourad, disagreed with Irena Kalhousová concerning the role of Europe in the Middle East, noting that Europeans have a historical responsibility in the region. The religious aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict represented by the growing influence of Hamas is, according to the Ambassador, a recent development given the historically secular nature of the Palestinian independence movement. She pointed out that blocking the negotiations is only strengthening the position of the Islamists.