How Much Israeli Give?

The U.S. government, privately relieved at the electoral overthrow of the hard-line Israeli government, looks forward to a quick resumption of Middle East peace talks, hoping that the next round will focus more on issues than on propaganda. Israel’s new government, almost certain to be headed by the tough but pragmatic Yitzhak Rabin, is expected to offer Palestinians far more generous terms on the disputed territories than the outgoing Likud government could ever contemplate.

But U.S. officials at the same time fear that opportunities presented by a more flexible Israeli position might go unclaimed on the Arab side. A particular worry is that the Palestinians, divided by their own personal and ideological rivalries, will prove unable to make the accommodations that are required to help move the process forward.

Likud’s position, as Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir put it, was that Israel would not give up an inch of the land it has controlled since the 1967 war nor would it give the 1.7 million Palestinians in the disputed territories anything approaching true autonomy. Rabin, on his part, is ready to make political and territorial concessions as part of a peace settlement. What he won’t do--and there was no electoral mandate this week gainsaying him--is withdraw wholly from the West Bank or accept a Palestinian state.

This adamancy accurately reflects the abiding concern over security felt by most Israelis. There’s nothing ideological or delusive about it. It comes from generations of confrontation with the Arab world, from the pre-independence period down to the experiences of today.

When PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in 1988 mumbled some words about Israel’s “right” to exist, he helped remove a barrier to contacts, but he did nothing to diminish Israelis’ worries about their survival in a sea of still largely hostile Arabs. Palestinians and other Arabs have to understand the depth of Israeli security concerns and be prepared to make accommodations that take them into account, just as Israelis must accept and respond accordingly to the intense and unflagging aspirations of Palestinians to govern themselves. This week’s election usefully erased the ideological element from the Israeli position, an achievement of some significance. Now comes the chance to see who’s really serious about negotiating peace.