Creating a Palestinian State—A Strategy for Peace

By Jerome Segal. Lawrence Hill, 1989. 177 pp. $9.95.

Reviewed by Andrea Barron

"There are three possible endings to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," writes Jerome Segal in Creating the Palestinian State—A Strategy for Peace. Israel could launch a nuclear attack against the Arab states and eliminate the Palestinians, the two sides could destroy each other, or Israel and the PLO could resolve the conflict through the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinians are the ones who can avert a nuclear war, says Segal. They have the capability to "unilaterally impose the two-state solution" on the unwilling Israelis and thereby "bring peace to the Middle East."

Segal, a research scholar at the University of Maryland at College Parkand a Jewish-American peace activist, directs his book to the Palestinians, especially the PLO. He has shared his ideas with PLO officials in 11mis and with Faisal Husseini, the West Bank Palestinian leader accused by Israel of being a leader of the Palestinian uprising. Segal argues that the Palestinians can both help themselves and prevent the 3,500-year-old "Jewish story" from ending tragically. "The struggle for an independent Palestinian state is also the struggle for a humane and safe Israel. As there can be no Judaism without a commitment to justice, it is also a struggle for Jewish history and the Jewish future."

The Palestinians should not wait for recognition from Israel to build their state, Segal asserts. Instead, they should adopt a 13-point "action plan," parts of which have already been implemented since the book was published in the fall of 1988. They ought first to proclaim a state in the West Bank and Gaza and establish a provisional government. The new government should then immediately launch a serious peace initiative—declare that it intends to live at peace with Israel and that it will not maintain an army. The Palestinians can begin constructing their state before Israeli troops withdraw Segal believes Israel eventually will withdraw—by organizing a criminal justice system, decreasing their economic dependence on Israel and developing democratic political institutions.

Since the Palestinians are not strong enough "physically" to force Israeli troops out, they will have to force Israel out "politically and psychologically." The best way to do this is by outlawing all acts of terrorism and by using only nonlethal means to fight the occupation. Segal is not interested in whether or not the Palestinians have a moral right to wage an armed struggle against the occupation—he wants a strategy that works. Armed struggle, he argues, will only bring mass suffering upon the Palestinians and will never result in a Palestinian state.

Why should the Palestinians agree to a demilitarized state when it is Israel which is the strongest Military power in the Middle East? Segal argues persuasively that the Palestinians must speak to "Jewish fears and irrationality" when it comes to Israel's security. A Palestinian state could not possibly destroy Israel. But the elimination of six million European Jews by a "civilized" nation like Germany has, not surprisingly, "blurred the lines between what is and is not possible." For this reason, Segal argues, there will either be a demilitarized Palestinian state or no Palestinian state at all!

On December 15, 1988, a month after declaring a state, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat recognized Israel and renounced terrorism in order to begin a dialogue with the United States. Is this the kind of Palestinian "peace initiative" Segal is talking about? Yes, to some extent, but important elements are missing. A provisional government needs to appoint an ambassador to Israel and draw up a constitution which will affirm its commitment to live at peace with Israel. The infamous Palestine National Charter, which calls for the dismantlement of Israel, would be left behind—no longer a thorn in the side of those Israelis and American Jews who argue that the PLO has changed.

Does it matter what American Jews think? Segal says they play an important role in shaping US policy on the Middle East. "Recent polls indicate that most Americans are favorably disposed to the idea of a Palestinian state. However it is not polls that matter but rather organized political forces with a passionate interest ' " Except perhaps for the tiny Palestinian-American community, Jews have a more "passionate interest" in the Middle East than any other community in the United States. A Palestinian peace initiative would certainly appeal to them.

It undoubtedly would not appeal to Palestinian hard-liners from groups like George Habash's Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, nor to the Islamic fundamentalists who are outside the PLO umbrella. The Palestinian government must be prepared to "discipline" these hard-liners if they reject the peace initiative. Segal does not say how, nor does he discuss the high price Arafat is likely to pay for adopting such a strategy. He says only that it needs to be done. If not a Palestinian state will never come into being and the story of the Jews—the "victims of the world"—will end in disaster.

Andrea Barron is a Ph.D. candidate in international relations at the American University in Washington, DC, and is a member of the Jewish Committee for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.

Creating a Palestinian State—A Strategy for Peace is available through the AET Book Club.