Arab Peace Commitments With Israel

Regarding “A Peaceful Border Requires a Golan Deal,” Commentary, April 29:

It is rather strange from a Jordanian perspective to read the idea expressed by Henry Siegman regarding Arab regimes that signed peace with Israel as facing “a new danger.” Siegman seems to have misread the message from the Arab streets of Amman and Cairo.

For the Arabs, peace and regional stability are strategic objectives. Jordan made good its long-standing commitment to peace by signing a peace treaty with Israel in October 1994. Together with our regional and international partners, we are building upon the peace process to ensure that the Middle East never again faces the possibility of conflict. Our aim is to deal with the root causes of conflict and to build a reality in which Arabs and Israelis can cohabit peacefully and in prosperity.

Arabs states are resilient and they can stand by their peace commitments even under very difficult circumstances. When Jordan signed the peace treaty with Israel, it realized that there were many difficulties and obstacles lying ahead. Every Arab party has faced the challenge. After all, the PLO and Israel persisted in their secret negotiations despite the 1993 “Operation Accountability” in Lebanon. The peace between Israel and Egypt persisted despite the Israeli attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor and the 1982 Lebanon War. Despite the recent tragic events which took place in the region, the countries of the Middle East are still looking for a just and comprehensive peace.

What is needed now is to revitalize regional security institutions instead of predicting their demise. It is essential, therefore, that precision-guided bombs are replaced by precision-guided diplomacy. International and regional diplomacy must focus on eliminating terrorism as an instrument of state policy. A regional security system needs to be created that is based on norms against the support of terrorism whether the victim is Muslim, Jew or Christian. All states in the region should be invited to become involved in regional security cooperation instead of using force to support national interests.

MAJ. GEN. MOHAMMAD K. SHIYYAB (Ret.)

Amman, Jordan