Israeli, Jordanian And Moroccan Ambassadors Discuss The Current Challenges In The Arab-Israeli Peace Process

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 9 April 1997

Agreeing that the peace process needs to be helped back on track, but disagreeing as to how and why it has deteriorated, the Ambassadors from Israel, Jordan and Morocco to the United Nations today offered their impressions on a host of topics including the role of the United Nations, terrorism, Jerusalem, multilateral negotiations, economic development and the importance of mutual trust and confidence building in the region.

The three ambassadors were invited by the American Jewish Committee to address these issues at this critical juncture in the peace process. In introducing the Ambassadors, David A. Harris, AJC Executive Director, noted the importance and timeliness of the discussion against the backdrop of a deterioration in the peace process.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Hassan Abu-Nimah of Jordan stated that "there are things on which we disagree, but we all agree that we must work together to achieve total, comprehensive peace in our region. With such a big project as the one in which we are engaged, we expect setbacks. What is happening now is not a crisis that determination and good will - through an objective, honest and purposeful exchange of views - cannot overcome.

Although the atmosphere surrounding the peace process may be different today than it was a few years ago, Jordan's U.N. representative noted that "what has not changed is the solid, firm operating peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. The changes are changes in style. We are all looking for better ways and means to achieve peace."

In describing what he believes led to the current tensions, Ambassador Abu-Nimah cited a "delay on the part of Israel to implement policies that were already agreed upon. The Hebron agreement was an important step forward, but it was followed by the building of Israeli settlements.

"Israel has every right to maintain its security. And I believe," he said, " that the Palestinian Authority has done its best to control and maintain a reasonable level of security. But the people expected more peace benefits. We are all against violence. Wars and confrontations in our region have led us nowhere. Only direct negotiations between Israelis and Arabs have been effective in leading to a better climate for peace. But we have to understand the forces that push people to the streets. These forces need to be objectively addressed."

Moroccan Ambassador Ahmed Snoussi also spoke of his country's good relations with Israel but tempered his remarks by adding that "I do not come here with the same joy as I have had before. When we saw peace becoming a reality, it was a dream realized for Morocco. We have been working to try and create relations as they should be between Israelis and Arabs. We are all Semites and cousins and we must live together.

"What we are witnessing now is a deterioration and we need to come back to the track of peace. When we talk to Israel, we talk to them as friends and we tell them that they must come back to the track of peace."

Ambassador Snoussi emphasized the critical importance of mutual confidence in creating an atmosphere in which peace can be realized. "The confidence that was created when the peace process began is being risked. We have worked to convince other Arab neighbors that peace was attainable. The economic boycott that existed against Israel was not only an economic problem but a psychological problem. The capital of confidence is going to be lost unless something is done, and this confidence will not be rebuilt in three minutes or three weeks. We do not want to lose another ten years reconstructing and rebuilding confidence that we once had in our hands. It is this confidence, this capital of trust, which will create peace and protect peace."

Ambassador Peleg of Israel thanked Jordan and Morocco for their support of the peace process and expressed the hope that Israel's relations with these two nations can serve as a model for Arab-Israel relations overall.

Israel's Acting U.N. Representative went on to express disappointment over recent initiatives taken by Arab groups including the seeking resolutions in the United Nations that condemn Israel. "Such actions," he said, "create the impression that our Arab neighbors believe they can achieve their desired results through U.N intervention instead of through direct negotiations. The use of such procedures will only bring us back to the Cold War atmosphere. The way to promote peace is not by calling for the freezing of normalization of relations or the resumption of boycotts or economic sanctions."

Expanding on the need for economic development, Ambassador Peleg added: "The bilateral and multilateral tracks are interrelated. We can strengthen the political process between Israelis and Palestinians by promoting regional economic projects. But to do this, all the commitments, including the Palestinian commitment to fight terrorism, must be kept. Israel wants to cooperate, not dominate. The whole Middle East can turn from an area of confrontation to one of progress."

Ambassador Abu-Nimah concurred but added that security and stability are the prerequisites for economic development and achievement and he noted that the atmosphere during the last economic Summit in Cairo was "not the same" as the previous two (in Casablanca and Amman) and that there were calls for a slowing down of economic cooperation with Israel."

Regarding current moves in the United Nations, he added: "The United Nations is there for discussion and dialogue instead of turning to violence. But this does not mean we are going back to a pre-peace process situation or to the Cold War era. We cannot say that the resolutions that run counter to Israel are selective and ineffective. U.N. resolutions have been helpful in the past. We hope to go back to direct negotiations again, but when they fail, we go to the U.N."

On the issue of terrorism and extremism, Ambassador Snoussi asserted that "when the peace process began, we thought we were going to construct a common defense against terrorism. The peace is still a young peace and needs confidence to protect it. We are trying to fight extremism but we need to get away from the secondary questions and start to deal with the real questions of peace. Let us keep our word and work together to protect the peace. People must respect what it is they have committed themselves to."

Ambassador Abu-Nimah stated that we must distinguish between two elements - a commitment and agreement signed by a government of Israel and the decisions currently being made by the government of Israel that contradict these agreements. "People are expressing their dissatisfaction. Violence and terror will erode confidence, but so will provocations."

Jordan's Ambassador, speaking on the future status of Jerusalem, noted that "no one wants to build walls and divide Jerusalem again. No one wants to close parts of Jerusalem off from one another. The Palestinians are looking for that part of Jerusalem that was Arab before 1967 to be their capital. Israel is taking a very hard line position on this, but I don't want to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations. We hope there is room for sharing and accomodating all the religious, political and physical needs of all concerned."

Israel's Acting U.N. Ambassador stated that "Israel recognizes the importance of Jerusalem to Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Arab- Israeli conflict is political, not religious. We have good relations with Muslims within Israel and with many Muslim nations. We'd like to see more readiness on the part of Muslim religious leaders to support the peace process and condemn terrorism. They must speak out clearly that the way Hamas terrorists and others use religion is not Islam; it is the falsification of Islam."

The American Jewish Committee continues to work diligently on behalf of moving the peace process forward constructively. To date, AJC has established relations with eleven Arab countries, in addition to the Palestinian Authority, traveling abroad frequently on leadership delegations and meeting with high level government officials in the region.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org