A Strategy for Israel in the Changed Middle East

The following is a summary of the article A Strategy for Israel in the Changed Middle East, written by Efraim Halevy--former head of the Mossad from 1998 to 2002.

A Strategy for Israel in the Changed Middle East

 

Efraim Halevy

• The options for Israel and the Palestinians basically can be boiled down to these: a permanent agreement, an interim agreement, a de facto interim agreement, and a situation of no agreement. The best possible option - a permanent agreement - is not operable at this time and is the least probable.

• Since the leaderships of Israel and the Palestinians are faced with the reality of a no-solution situation, one in which a permanent solution is not workable, both sides will have to do what people often do in life - they settle for less, settle for something which is less permanent, less perfect. There will have to be an interim solution.

• In the year 2000 I paid a clandestine visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, to what is called Solomon's Stables, where I saw beautiful, 2,000-year-old columns. They do not exist anymore because they were destroyed by the Muslims, believing that if they destroyed the remnants of the Temple area, they would destroy Jewish rights there.

• There can only be an ultimate reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians if there is a mutual acceptance of rights. I believe we have a right to Jericho, and they believe they have a right to Jaffa. I would say that if they recognize my right, I will recognize their right, and now let's see how we can live together.

• It is a mistake on our part to cringe every time the Palestinians say they are going to do something unilaterally. The end of all this might be a de facto dual unilateral process. After the UN vote in September, the PA will say that Israel is now an army of occupation in a sovereign state. Let them go to the International Court of Justice and, in the meantime, Israel will not cooperate. Israel needs a bit of stamina, strong nerves, and not to take them all that seriously. We should exercise more self-respect.

Two points Halevy makes not covered in the summary are in regards to the move next month to ask the UN to recognize a Palestinian state:

Regarding the new Palestinian maneuver, Israel should say that this is a process which we believe is illegitimate and we will not be a party to it. Tell the UN that they can vote for it. We simply will not respond to it. We are very glad that the Palestinians after more than 60 years have decided to implement the UN resolution of 1947. As far as the borders are concerned, we go by UN Security Council Resolution 242. I cannot see American or UN troops moving into the West Bank to push Israel out of five or ten kilometers.

and in regards to Iran:

The ultimate way in which we can overcome Iran is not only by military means, but also by creating a viable network of states and actors in the region who will see the Iranians as a threat to them. Even if the Egyptian prime minister says that Egypt wants to repair its relations with Iran, Ahmadinijad is not going to be a very welcome figure in Cairo because the Shiite message is not one which the Sunni majority of Egyptians are going to like. It is not in the nature of things.

Read the whole thing.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Middle East.