Seminar on: IMPLICATIONS OF THE 13TH SAARC SUMMIT

PROGRAM

ABSTRACT
PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
MOHAMMAD SELIM

The concept of conflict management refers to the mechanisms and processes through which protagonists in a conflict situation attempt to direct the course of events in a way that will secure the achievement of their objectives. These could include direct negotiations, role of third parties, and the potential use of threats and of military force to influence the other side without necessarily resolving the conflict.
This paper reviews the processes and mechanisms of conflict management between Israel and the Palestine, which began after the Madrid Peace conference in 1991. The parties have used various mechanisms of conflict management, the most important of which are (i) multi-lateral negotiations within the Madrid process, (ii) The European mediation which resulted in bi-lateral negotiations within the framework of the Oslo process, which, in turn, led to the Oslo Declaration the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, and signing subsequent agreements, (iv) American mediation within the framework of the Camp David II summit of July 2000, (v) military escalations and confrontations which has been the major mechanism during the Arafat era, and which continued later on between Israel and the Palestinian resistance groups,(vi) role of Arab states in the form of the Arab Peace Initiative of the Arab summit in 2002, (vii) Intervention of the Quartet which resulted in the Road Map after the invasion of Iraq; and (vii) American mediation to hold a multi-lateral peace conference in November 2007 in Annapolis, USA..

With the exception of the last mechanism, which has not been tested yet, all these mechanisms have failed for various reasons, the most important of which is (i) the power imbalance between the two sides; and (ii) the unconditional American support to Israel, in a world characterized by unipolarity. In fact, in 2004, the USA gave Israel territorial concessions in Palestine before the negotiations have started. Therefore, it is unlikely in the foreseeable future that Israel and Palestine will move from conflict management to conflict resolution.

*Paper presented in an International Workshop on Conflict Management Mechanisms and the Challenge of Peace organized by the Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad at the Arts Auditorium on November 26-27-2007

** Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait