The Comma Period of the Talks

Marathon negotiations have moved Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization closer to the opening stage of limited Palestinian self-rule. This is that vital first phase of a planned five-year process during which a final settlement of the generations-long conflict between two peoples contesting the same small plot of land is supposed to be negotiated.

The latest achievement, reached during talks in Cairo between PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, constitutes another milestone on a long and inescapably arduous journey. Its significance lies not just in what it tangibly resolves but also in the new psychological boundary that it sets. Each incremental success in these negotiations makes it that much harder to abandon or downgrade the process. The diplomats call it momentum, and its importance in nudging a process toward a successful end can’t be underestimated.

The problem is, paradoxically, that opponents of the peace process both in Israel and among the Palestinians also like to believe they have momentum on their side. The longer the negotiations go on and the more contested each substantive point becomes, the more popular frustrations, fears and doubts about the process may grow, increasing the appeal of the rejectionists. That’s why steady, visible progress is so important. Israeli and Palestinian political leaders of course know that. They also know their support from many who now favor the peace process would quickly evaporate if they were perceived as bargaining away any vital interests in the negotiations. That’s why each word, each comma is debated and held up to the closest time-consuming scrutiny.

The details of the Cairo agreement haven’t been fully revealed. It appears, though, that major progress was made on two key issues: how much of the area around the West Bank town of Jericho is to come under Palestinian authority, and how the international borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the West Bank and Jordan are to be regulated. Difficult as these issues are, they pale in comparison with issues yet to be negotiated. Still, the momentum is being maintained, and for that all who finally are able to hope realistically for Israeli-Palestinian peace can be thankful.