Recently I spoke with ETSU alum and locally based author/journalist Muriel Kagan Zager about the road map for peace proposed by the Bush administration for the Middle East.
Zager writes a column once a month for the Bristol Herald Courier about issues concerning Israel and Palestine.
Zager travels to the Middle East once a month to research and interview for her columns.
I interviewed her just after she returned this week after the recent Hamas suicide attack on Israeli civilians on a bus. These are some excerpts from my interview.
Q: It appears Mahmoud Abbas is just a figurehead. Is Arafat still in control?
MKZ: Arafat will never give up control. As one person said: He’s waiting in the wings. Another indicated Abbas is Arafat’s puppet. But remember Arafat is the original comeback kid.
Q: Is it premature to move on a roadmap until the Palestinians end terrorism totally?
MKZ: I do not think any elected leader can stay in power when his citizens are being killed. That is perhaps Sharon’s biggest problem. On the other hand, by not moving on a peace process, the terrorist wins.
Q: Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post columnist, said recently that it is foolish to negotiate with the Palestinians. For example, such as the recent summit because it still brings Hamas to the table. What do you think about this statement? And, are peace summits facilitators of terrorism? Most importantly is peace negotiable?
MKZ: I agree in part with Krauthammer. But sometimes you have to be able to negotiate with someone. Unfortunately Israel does not seem to have a “peace partner” at the moment.
No. I do not believe summits facilitate terrorism. It exists with or without the meetings. What happens with terrorists is that they prove their point by using these opportunities.
And one has to negotiate peace. There’s no other way. Terror and counter-terror is not working.
Q: In an earlier meeting you made a statement that the Palestinians are really not wanted in other Arab countries such as Egypt. Can you expand on this?
MKZ: As you can see, the Palestinians have been a problem for many of the Arab countries for years. They agitate and cause political havoc wherever they have been.
Therefore, most countries would prefer they stay in Israel. Also, it gives the other Arab countries a “cause” to suggest that Israel is the problem.
Q: What was the overall feelings of the Palestinians and the Israelis in your recent trip?
MKZ: As with most peoples, there was hope with some and no hope with others. The answer with the Palestinians (remember I’m mostly talking to moderates) was that there is no other way other than the road map. Israelis felt both positive and negative to the results.
Q: Are we saying to other peoples, here is how the major powers will recognize you as a state? For example, the Palestinians are not the only peoples in the Arab world who want a state. The Kurds of Northern Iraq and Turkey do too.
Should every people have a state in your opinion or just the ones using terrorism as a means? It seems that only people with bombs strapped on their backs are recognized.
MKZ: Your question gives me the creeps. If people feel that the only way to achieve their goal is through terrorism, there is no hope for peace in the world.
People who have bombs strapped to themselves are looking for the recognition. Those peoples, who want change through democratic means and negotiations, are rarely heard.
The bomber makes news. Is Hamas threatened by the prosperity a state and new leaders might bring? Of course.
Also, Hamas feels quite sure that the means they use, i.e. terrorism and suicide bombings is the only way to achieve their goal. Which is, as I’m sure you are aware, the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Note I said Jewish people, because they not only want to destroy Israelis, they have stated they will “destroy Jews, wherever they are.

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