CONTINUING EFFORTS to revive peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians indicate that reaching an agreement remains a real international priority even if talks repeatedly run into a dead end. Israel’s decision to freeze most building at West Bank settlements as a goodwill gesture was rejected by the Palestinian leadership because it falls far short of a complete cessation. But, together with reports that a major prisoner swap is being planned, the gesture could inject energy into a process that badly needs renewal.
The 10-month freeze must be put alongside Israel’s rejection of President Barack Obama’s call this summer for a complete end to all building in the West Bank settlements. This was an audacious act by Binyamin Netanyahu, its new prime minister. Mr Obama’s failure to insist on this condition lost him credibility in the region and has contributed to the current low morale on the Palestinian side. Uncertainty over whether Mahmoud Abbas will continue as Palestinian president, whether elections due next year will be held and the continuing harsh Israeli blockade of Gaza clearly bear this out.
A prisoner exchange could re-energise Palestinian politics. Reportedly, it would swap the Israeli officer Gilad Shalit, held by Hamas forces in Gaza since June 2006, for up to 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel. There is still disagreement over which prisoners Israel is prepared to free and what will happen to them once released. Most importantly it is not known whether Marwan Barghouti, the 50-year old Palestinian leader serving five life sentences for masterminding terrorist attacks on Israelis, will be among them. He has been put prominently on the list by Hamas even though he is a member of the competing Fatah movement.
A potential successor to Mr Abbas, a leading advocate of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation and a supporter of stronger resistance against Israeli occupation, Mr Barghouti is certainly a controversial figure among Israelis. It is not surprising that ministers are divided on whether to release him. Some say the current Palestinian divisions suit Israeli interests and effectively postpone any realistic peace deal indefinitely, while others recognise this is only a recipe for continuing confontation, much more violence and possibly an end to any prospect of a two-state solution. Since Israel must make peace with its enemies, it is better that the Palestinian side is ably led and capable of speaking for a united population in negotiating an end to the conflict.
Mr Barghouti’s release would be a sign that such a process is still possible, even though he would then have to pursue and achieve that leadership. His approach to political unity amongst Palestinians recognises that Hamas must be gradually drawn into negotiations with Israel. His political background as a West Bank representative not closely associated with the émigré leadership of Fatah, which returned there with Yasser Arafat in the 1990s, gives him greater popular legitimacy. His ability and willingness to talk to Israelis, while reserving the right to resist their occupation, would give impetus to a peace process that otherwise looks exhausted.