Rice Brokers Gaza Deal between Israel and Palestinians

Condoleeza Rice is a very brilliant and talented woman whose appalling judgment in international relations is a matter of record. Nonetheless, she did just pull off something of a coup for herself, her boss and the people in Israel and Gaza. She stayed on an extra day in Jerusalem earlier this week, put her own reputation on the line (the value of which is doubtful), and managed to get an agreement opening a border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Dr. Rice won one for everybody.

Since the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the Sharon government has kept control of Gaza’s borders, sea coast and airspace. Since the impoverished area needs trade to develop, a continued Israeli control over access into and out of the area would doom the Palestinians in Gaza to permanent poverty – this in turn would likely breed greater militancy, which neither the Israelis nor the Palestinian Authority wants.

Israel’s concern in letting anyone else, and especially the Palestinians, control the border centered on weapons smuggling. There are some in Gaza who are not reconciled to the existence of the “Zionist entity,” and opening a border crossing point offers them an opportunity to bring weaponry into Gaza. Meanwhile, the Palestinians insisted that the border at Rafah be free of Israeli forces. A solution was found by having remote monitoring of the area, along with EU personnel to keep an eye on things directly.

In addition to an open border with Egypt, the deal permits Palestinian travel by bus convoy across Israeli lands between Gaza and the West Bank. This could be of greater significance than the border crossing because it is an acknowledgement by Israel of the Palestinian right of transit between their two, non-contiguous territories. Movement of people between these places permits the Palestinian Authority to act as a single entity; moreover, it allows reunification of families. Finally, labor mobility is never a bad thing to a developing economy.

This was not a case, either, of Dr. Rice sweeping in at the last minute to claim the glory from others’ work. Reuters reported, “International Middle East envoy James Wolfensohn, who had threatened to quit out of frustration over the impasse, thanked Rice for giving the negotiations the push they needed.”

This mess is a long way from settled. Indeed, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas claimed, right after the deal was made, that Israel was trying to foment a Palestinian Civil War by insisting that various militant groups surrender their arms. However, peace often comes a step at a time, and Dr. Rice was right when she called this deal a “good step forward,” and without her direct intervention, it might not have happened.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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