Baker Institute offers ‘street map’ for Mideast peace
U.S. leadership is essential for lasting stability in
turbulent area, institute contends
Houston Chronicle
February 4, 2005
By RON NISSIMOV ([email protected])
On the cusp of an Egyptian summit next week for Israeli and
Palestinian leaders, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public
Policy released a policy paper Thursday urging the United States to
take a leading role in the “road map” peace plan.
“The timing is impeccable; that’s why I’m a little bleary-eyed today,”
Edward Djerejian, director of the Baker Institute, told the Houston
Chronicle’s editorial board. “I sent a copy to (Secretary of State)
Condoleezza Rice and (National Security Adviser) Steve Hadley; I sent
one to (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon, to (Palestinian
Authority President) Abu Mazen, and also one to the Egyptians and
Jordanians. We did all that last night and today.”
Djerejian, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, said the
policy paper, “Creating a Roadmap Implementation Process Under United
States Leadership,” is a “street map to the road map” because of its
detailed recommendations.
“The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is at an important crossroads,
with the election of Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) as the
president of the Palestinian Authority, and the expected
implementation of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon’s disengagement plan”
from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, said the document.
“Although the obligations of the parties are unilateral in nature,” it
said, “neither side can successfully implement their commitments
without adequate support and coordination from the international
community, and in particular, the United States.”
Djerejian said the Baker Institute’s call for U.S. involvement would
not be in the same vein as President Clinton’s failed efforts to
promote the peace process.
According to the policy paper, this is because “we have moved from
‘agreement-first, peace later,’ to requiring fundamental changes on
the ground.”
The paper said the United States should be actively involved in:
– Providing technical and professional assistance in creating a viable
Palestinian Authority government and improving its internal security,
and helping Sharon carry out his disengagement plan from disputed
territories in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
– Developing requirements for an Israeli withdrawal from the
Gaza-Sinai border with Egypt, and transferring security authority for
the region to the Palestinian Authority.
– Lead an international effort to improve the Palestinian economy in
the wake of Israeli disengagement.
– Develop a trilateral structure with Palestinians and Israelis for
the orderly transfer of power of evacuated areas to the Palestinian
Authority.
– Provide a “safety net” to maintain negotiations in the event of a
crisis.
The “road map” peace plan was detailed by President Bush in May 2003.
The first phase calls for the Palestinian Authority to take strong
steps to stop violence against Israel and for Israel to dismantle
disputed settlements that were established after March 2001.
The second phase calls for the creation of a Palestinian state “with
provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty.”
The third phase calls for a resolution of all other disagreements.
Djerejian said Bush had made it clear that achieving peace in the
Middle East will be a top priority in his second term, especially with
the opportunity presented by the death of former Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat, whom Bush regarded as an obstacle to peace. Arafat
died Nov. 11, 2004, in Paris at age 75.
Since then, Abbas has been elected Palestinian president of the
Palestinian Authority, and senior Israeli and Palestinian officials
have resumed meetings. Egypt has invited Israeli, Palestinian and
Jordanian leaders to a peace summit at the resort of Sharm el-Sheik on
Tuesday. Rice will visit the Middle East this weekend.
Djerejian said the Baker Institute convened a working group eight
months ago and rushed to complete the project to take advantage of
recent events.
The policy paper did not address such final settlement issues as
borders, the status of Jerusalem or the so-called “right of return”
for millions of Palestinian exiles.
On the Internet: The full report can be found at