One of the world’s leading experts on the Arab-Israeli conflict claims that Israel has two options regarding the future of the West Bank: one bad, the other worse.
Prof. Yehoshafat Harkabi, a former chief of Israel’s intelligence service and presently a professor of international relations and Middle East studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “The choices Israel is facing are not between good and bad, but between bad and worse. The worse for Israel is to annex the West Bank. By annexation, Israel will solve some of its security problems but, at the same time, will significantly increase the number of the Arabs in the country, creating a new Jewish-Arab state with many, many tensions.”
According to Harkabi, who is also a General (res.) in the Israeli army, “Israel will become a new Belfast in the Mideast. Such a state will be an easy target for the Arab countries. It will be a weak and unstable state.”
Furthermore, he said, “Jews from other countries will not come to settle in such a state and Israel will be further isolated in the international community and in the United Nations since (Security Council) Resolution 242, the only resolution accepted so far by the Arabs and Israel as a basis for a Mideast settlement, does not recognize annexation.”
Harkabi warned that the annexation of the West Bank by Israel “would perpetuate the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Arabs are presently weak and Israel is strong, but this situation might change in the future ….”
THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS
The other choice for Israel, which he termed the lesser of two evils, is to relinquish the West Bank, although it would be to Israel’s disadvantage from the viewpoint of security, Harkabi pointed out. Nevertheless, he continued, “I believe it is the better choice for Israel. I am not a leftist. All I am interested in is the welfare of Israel and I reached the conclusion that a moderate policy would benefit Israel better than a hawkish approach.”
Harkabi, who was an advisor on Arab affairs to both Premier Yitzhak Rabin and to Premier Menachem Begin (“I resigned as Begin’s advisor after a few months”) said he is in favor of a “conditional negotiation” between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“I believe that a survey among Palestinians would prove that most of them consider the PLO as their representative,” he said. “This is an ugly organization, no doubt, by its actions and ideology–but one does not negotiate only with those he loves.”
Harkabi conceded that “the public in Israelis not willing to negotiate with the PLO. But I do not differentiate between the PLO and the Palestinians. If we will not negotiate with them, we will perpetuate the conflict. Perpetuation of the conflict is not in Israel’s interest.”
“THE BAR KOKHBA SYNDROME”
Begin’s policy toward the Palestinians “is not realistic,” he observed. “The approach of Israel toward solving the Arab-Israeli conflict is not realistic.” Harkabi’s contention that Begin’s policy toward the Palestinians is not realistic is in line with the major thesis in his book, “The Bar Kokhba Syndrome” (Rossel Books, New York, $15.95). The English-language edition was released in New York this week. The Hebrew-language edition appeared last year in Israel and caused a fierce controversy there.
In it, Harkabi claims that Bar Kokhba, the legendary Jewish hero, waged a futile and very unrealistic revolt against the Roman occupation of Israel in the years 132 C.E. to 135 C.E. The Bar Kokhba rebellion resulted in the destruction of Judaea and the exile of the Jewish population and its dispersion around the world.
“The Bar Kokhba example teaches us a lesson about the value of realism,” Harkabi said. “My criticism of Bar Kokhba is an instrument with which I hope to induce realistic thinking in today’s Israel and among the Jewish people. Once a people changes its view of the past, then it will change the future and its behavior in the future. A prospect on the past can bring changes in the present.”
CITES CHANGES IN THE ARAB WORLD
Turning to current developments, Harkabi said that he does not think that King Hussein’s rejection recently of negotiations with Israel is final. “Without a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict the Arabs will have to prepare for a major new confrontation with Israel,” Harkabi said. “Such a confrontation is not possible without major political changes and even revolutions in the Arab countries.”
Hussein, along with Saudi Arabia’s rulers and those of other Arab countries “are most afraid of these changes,” Harkabi observed. “Hussein understands that without progress in the Mideast the whole Arab world will be engulfed in turmoil. Therefore, if is in Hussein’s interest to want to find a settlement. I think, however, that as long as Israel continues with implementing settlements on the West Bank he cannot enter into negotiations, because if he does, it is as if he endorses Israeli settlements.”
Continuing, Harkabi said: “It seems to me that the Arabs are now starting to distinguish between their vision of doing away with Israel and the policy of reconciling themselves to its existence. The Arabs used to have the same vision and the same policy: elimination of the State of Israel. The vision is still the same, but not the policy. I think this is applicable even to (PLO chief) Yasir Arafat.”
Harkabi warned that “if the Arabs will not achieve political progress regarding their conflict with Israel, there is a danger that they will return to match their vision with their policy against Israel.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
