Prisoner Release - Veering Off the Roadmap (JCPA-JERUSALEM CENTER FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS) Eli Kazhdan JERUSALEM ISSUE BRIEF Vol. 2, No. 31 07/14/03)
Source: http://www.jcpa.org/brief/brief2-31.htm
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The first sentence of Phase I of the roadmap is crystal clear,
demanding that "the Palestinians immediately undertake an
unconditional cessation of violence." The roadmap´s cease-fire is not
contingent upon Israeli performance on any other issue.
Any linkage between the question of Palestinian violence and
Israeli implementation of the roadmap makes violence part of the
negotiating process.
Not a single mention of Palestinian prisoners or their release is
to be found in any of the three phases of the roadmap. The Tenet
Plan, to which the roadmap refers, only called upon Israel to release
Palestinians "arrested in security sweeps, who have no association
with terrorist activities."
Over the past few weeks, there has been a protracted arm-wrestling
match between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as within
Israeli and Palestinian governments and societies respectively,
regarding the issue of prisoner release. Government meetings and
negotiations, press releases and threats, condemnations, and counter-
condemnations have all focused on one issue: the release of
Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israel.
Judging by all the recent global commentary around this issue, one
would naturally assume that this is a first and foremost issue of the
roadmap, referred to in the first sentence of this document as one of
the "performance-based and goal-driven benchmarks" essential for any
further progress.
Additionally, militant Islamist groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad,
have been insisting that unless their prisoners are freed, their
temporary truce (hudna) with Israel will be cancelled, thereby
creating a formal link between the prisoner release issue and the
cease-fire. Are these assertions consistent with the roadmap or a
deviation from its original terms?
The Roadmap´s Concept of an Israeli-Palestinian Cease-Fire
While the roadmap includes three phases connected to benchmarks, the
first sentence of Phase I is crystal clear, demanding that "the
Palestinians immediately undertake an unconditional cessation of
violence." The roadmap´s cease-fire is not contingent upon Israeli
performance on any other issue. The requirement of the Palestinians
to halt violent activities is absolute. Any linkage between the
question of Palestinian violence and Israeli implementation of the
roadmap makes violence part of the negotiating process.
The roadmap cease-fire, moreover, is not confined to halting
Palestinian terror attacks alone. It states that the "unconditional
cessation of violence [be undertaken] according to the steps outlined
below." Those steps include "dismantlement of terrorist capabilities
and infrastructure," as well as "commencing confiscation of illegal
weapons." In terms of sequence, it is clear from reading the roadmap
that these security steps are an inherent part of the definition of a
cease-fire and are to be implemented immediately as well.
Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority security services have not
taken one step to dismantle the terrorist organizations or disarm
them, in accordance with their obligations. Worse still, Palestinian
ministers, like Muhammad Dahlan, have repeatedly asserted that they
have no intention of implementing this roadmap obligation. True, the
Palestinian Authority has taken some initial steps against
incitement, a handful of weapons were confiscated from "criminal
elements" - not members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and some
attempted attacks were foiled. But the roadmap´s fundamental demand
to deal with the terrorist groups by removing them along with their
arms has yet to be acted upon. Moreover, there are increasing signs
that Palestinian organizations, like Hamas, are actually expanding
their infrastructure, by increasing the rate of production of Qassam
rockets and upgrading their range.
The Roadmap and the Prisoner Release Issue
Overlooked in the controversy over prisoner release is the fact that
not a single mention of Palestinian prisoners or their release is to
be found in any of the three phases of the roadmap. The only possible
reference appears in the roadmap´s demand that "Palestinians and
Israelis resume security cooperation based on the Tenet work plan" -
a demand which is a "supportive measure" to the immediate cessation
of violence, certainly not a precursor to it. In any case, the Tenet
Plan itself only called upon Israel to release Palestinians "arrested
in security sweeps, who have no association with terrorist
activities."
So before the two parties have even begun to follow the roadmap,
Israel already finds itself in a corner: on the one hand, a cease-
fire which was supposed to be immediate and unconditional has become
temporary and contingent upon prisoner release; on the other hand,
the Palestinians are not moving ahead on other "immediate" demands of
the roadmap, such as dismantling terrorist groups (or disarming them)
and comprehensive political reform, until the prisoner issue is
settled to their satisfaction.
Within a very brief period, Israel has found itself at a strategic
disadvantage as the Palestinians focus our own attention on the issue
of prisoner release and effectively divert world attention from
critical demands for performance on the Palestinian side.
The roadmap, which has been accepted by Israel and the Palestinians
as the compass for the peace process, is today the prism through
which progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front is globally judged.
Israel must play strictly by the roadmap, meticulously monitoring
Palestinian compliance with each and every benchmark and demand of
the roadmap, and not veering off it, especially when the Palestinians
seek to divert attention to an issue that was never part of it.
Eli Kazhdan is a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs. He served as a foreign policy advisor to Minister Natan
Sharansky. (www.jcpa.org. © Copyright. 07/14/03)
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