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2007-12-18 issue:

Meeting in Annapolis offered nothing new

by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, director, MCC U.S. Washington Office

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Last month’s conference held in Annapolis, Md., has the potential to directly affect the lives of the Palestinians and Israelis with whom Mennonite Central Committee works. Whether this change will be for better or worse remains to be seen.

Hosted by the U.S. government and attended by representatives from more than 40 countries, the conference was held Nov. 27. In reality, the gathering was more an announcement of a new series of discussions to be held in 2008 than an attempt to work at any substantive issues.

One critical question that remains is whether these substantive issues—such as a shared Jerusalem, the rights of refugees and the viability of a Palestinian state—will be on the table in future discussions.

These have not been seriously addressed in previous “peace processes,” and there is cause for skepticism as to whether they will be this time around. For while U.S., Israeli and Palestinian political leaders speak eloquently of peace, events on the ground point in a different direction. Israel continues to encourage settlements in the West Bank in areas with the most fertile land and water, and the “security wall” has sliced off large portions of the West Bank, effectively annexing them to Israel.

In July, Mennonite Central Committee prepared a discussion paper on Palestine-Israel. Based on input from Palestinian and Israeli partners, it outlined principles that must be upheld if a just peace will be realized in the region. These included respect for human rights, justice and security for refugees; a shared Jerusalem; an end to Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem; an end to confiscation of land and water resources, and the dismantling of the separation barrier.

Time will tell whether these principles will be honored in the follow-up meetings in 2008—whether there will be merely peace or a truly just peace. For the sake of Israelis and Palestinians whose daily lives are affected by the outcomes of political leaders, we must pray fervently that it will be the latter.