Progress, Despite the Mideast’s Chaos

Palestinian radicals try to blow up Israeli civilians and Israeli security forces make mass arrests of suspected radicals in sweeps through the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian youths attack Israeli soldiers and right-wing Israeli politicians denounce peace talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization as a threat to Israel’s national life. This is the stuff of headlines and graphic pictures. But while the harsh and often deadly drama of daily confrontation goes on, so--quietly and persistently--does the infinitely complicated work of peacemaking. And peacemaking, it’s now clear, has made great progress.

For all the repeated warnings of crises and impending breakdowns, Israel and the PLO could be within days of concluding an agreement for Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. Given the mutual concerns and suspicions that have led to every minor point in their talks being endlessly debated and minutely codified, that agreement bodes to be the approximate length of the U.S. tax code or the NAFTA accord. No matter. Soon--perhaps by the end of next week, both sides say--it will be ready. With that a monumental step in the history of the modern Middle East will be taken. And then, of course, will begin the next round of negotiations, launching a diplomatic enterprise whose duration probably will be measured in years.

Meanwhile, Israel seems to be moving to broaden opportunities for progress. In an important statement Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said he was ready “for the sake of peace” to evacuate all Jewish settlements on the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 war. That stops well short of meeting Syria’s demand that Israel commit to a full withdrawal. But it sends a signal of such clear implicit intent that Syria, if in fact it wants a land-for-secure-peace agreement with Israel, can’t afford to ignore. Next week Secretary of State Warren Christopher plans to tour Middle Eastern capitals to assess current moods and, undoubtedly, serve as the conduit for some sensitive communications. If an Israel-PLO agreement comes by then, it will put a lot of momentum behind his journey.