HAVING just returned from the Middle East, I find it hard to have much optimism about peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel sees Hamas’s control of Gaza as a situation it cannot do anything about, a weak and divided Palestinian Authority on the West Bank, increased arms smuggling and a growing threat from Israeli Arabs. Palestinians see a steady growth in Israeli settlements and restrictions, a weak Israeli government and faltering international assistance. And all sides seem to see Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visits as an end-of-administration effort in résumé building.
There is, however, one potential chance to move forward. It centers on an American-led mission, based in Jerusalem, that is trying to build new security forces on the West Bank that will support stabilization efforts by the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, prevent a Hamas takeover there and end the corruption and abuse of the older intelligence forces, Yasir Arafat’s Mukhabarat.
The importance of this effort cannot be overstated: unless there are effective Palestinian security forces, Israel will never trust in a Palestinian state or be able to act on the quiet progress being made toward reaching a final settlement. And we’ve had some promising signs. With assistance from Jordan, Britain and Canada, the Americans have activated the first battalion of the so-called Presidential Guard, and it’s had some success in bringing order to the refugee camp at Jenin. There are more battalions to come, and a real possibility that this aid effort could create effective new security forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/opinion/22cordesman.html?th&emc=th