Israeli Counter-Insurgency and the Intifadas by Sergio Catignani

Author:Sergio Catignani [Catignani, Sergio]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, General, Political Science, Security (National & International), Terrorism
ISBN: 9781134079971
Google: vYh9AgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2008-01-24T03:35:28+00:00

‘Road map’ for peace, PA power struggles and unilateral disengagement

Sharon acknowledged that ‘it [i.e. terrorism] is not something that we can fight and destroy quickly. It takes time. It demands commitment and hard work…’. At the same time, knowing how deleterious an effect the protracted conflict could have on the operational capabilities and combat motivation of the IDF, Sharon by late 2002 was clear that he did not want it bogged down forever in the Territories: ‘I don’t want to sit in Nablus forever. I do not want to have our country mobilized forever to sit in Nablus.’92

The opportunity for achieving some kind of agreement with the Palestinians, and the cessation of major terror and guerrilla attacks was presented by the ‘road map’ performance-based peace plan proposed by the so-called ‘quartet’, that is, the USA, the European Union, Russia and the UN.93 The principles of the plan were first enunciated by US President George W. Bush in a speech, on 24 June 2002, in which he called for a two-state solution of the Israeli—Palestinian conflict. In exchange for independent statehood, the PA would be required to not only fight terrorism, but also carry out significant democratic reforms. Israel, on the other hand, would be required to facilitate the establishment of a reformed Palestinian government and end (as well as reverse) settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Road Map peace plan would be carried out in three phases, between mid-2003 and 2005: (1) End of Palestinian violence, establishment of Palestinian political reforms (initially by appointing a new leader through democratic elections) and the removal of Israeli settlements; (2) Establishment of an independent Palestinian state; (3) Achievement of final-status agreement on issues such as final borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees and remaining Israeli settlements. The progress of such a plan would be subject to the compliance and efforts of both parties in satisfying their respective Road Map obligations. After the appointment by Yasser Arafat of the first-ever Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen), on 19 March 2003, the US released the road map’s details on 30 April 2003 and oversaw the first Sharon—Abbas summit in Aqaba, Jordan on 4 June 2003, whereby both leaders publicly declared their willingness to uphold the Road Map principles.

However, days after the summit, the Israeli failed attempt to kill Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi with helicopter air strikes in Gaza, on 10 June, led to a re-conflagration of the conflict and, on 11 June, to a Palestinian suicide bomb attack on an Israeli bus, which caused the deaths of 17 passengers and bystanders. Pressure from the newly appointed Prime Minister Abbas led, on 29 June, to a unilateral, but tentative, cease-fire (hudna) between the PA and the four major Palestinian terrorist groups: Islamic Jihad, Hamas (three-month cease-fire), Fatah (six-month cease-fire) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This cease-fire, which rapidly broke down, was seen by the Israelis as a ploy for

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