Tanya Reinhart
Barak
went to the summit with a magic formula: 10-90. 10 percent annexation, and in
the rest – a Palestinian state. No previous Israeli plan ever offered so much
land to the Palestinians. Where do these numbers come from?
The
newspapers of March uncover the mystery. The current plan was formed then, but
was postponed due to the Syria and Lebanon events. "State for
annexation", said the main title of Haaretz on 10.3.00, and the subtitle
explained: "The prime minister’s 10-40-50 plan – 50 percent of the west
bank for the Palestinians, 40 percent under debate, and 10 percent to
Israel". The plan includes a third redeployment which will increase the A
area from 42 to 50 percent, in which the Palestinians will be able to declare a
state with a capital in Abu Dis.
"The
proposal will leave the status of about 40 percent of the west bank unresolved
as well as Jerusalem and the right of return", said the text. Meaning, in
return for his consent to the formal annexation of the whole center of the west
bank by Israel, Arafat will be allowed to declare a Palestinian state on 50
percent of the west bank, and to sell to his people that the rest of the
problems are still being discussed.
The
plan itself is all too well known: it is one of the versions of the Alon plus
plan, or the Sharon plan, which robs the Palestinians of half of the west bank
lands. (The "debated" 40 percent are lands which have already been
confiscated from their Palestinian owners since 1967). The only real thing in
this plan is that 10 percent will be annexed now, and, thus, will finalize the
disconnection northern half from the southern half of the west bank for good.
What
changed since March is only the packaging. 90-10 sounds a lot more convincing
than 50-40-10. Instead of emphasizing the debated 40 percent, vague ideas about
"leasing, for now" are thrown in the air, and to enable Arafat to sell
this to his people, these areas are not distinguished by a different color in
the published maps. With the right propaganda tricks, any product can be sold
these days.
Then
why is the rightwing so alarmed? Why would they mind it if Barak will manage to
annex 10% and implement Sharon’s plan? The fringe rightwing always objects to
any plan that leaves the Palestinians with any amount of their land. In their
eyes, transfer is the only solution. But the rest are also victims of
propaganda, just like the "peace camp": in Barak’s single ruler
system, nobody can ever know what exactly he is planning, and when he is telling
the truth. Now that he is selling the 90-10 story, how can they be sure that he
is lying?
In
any case, the crisis with the right is only helping Barak implement his
annexation plan: in the world he is depicted as the hero of peace, and to the
Palestinians he clarifies that this is the last chance: that if they won’t give
up now the center of the west bank once and for all, he will have to give in to
"his people’s pressure" and send tanks to the territories. The 1000
injured of the Nakba day events are nothing compared to what will be in the next
round.
Furthermore,
as long as the right is protesting, Barak can be sure that when the next round
will come, the Israeli "peace camp" will be on his side, as it is now.
Ordered
from above, just like in Syria and Iraq, the peace demonstrators are marching in
support of the leader. Many of them were, until 1993, among the objectors of the
occupation and believed that its end requires the dismantling of the settlements
and return of all confiscated lands. But today they gather to convince the
world, the Palestinians and themselves that it is possible to establish a
Palestinians state without land-reserves, without water, without a glimpse of a
chance of economic independence, in three ghettos surrounded by fences,
settlements, bypass roads and Israeli tanks. A virtual state which serves one
purpose: separation – apartheid. "We are here and they are there" –
behind the fences, as Barak put it.
Don’t
the hands tremble when they hold signs supporting Barak, who is responsible for
the 1000 injured on Nakba day, and promises to do it again? Didn’t the hands of
the Hadash (the Communist Party) and Arab PMs tremble when all of them, except
for Azmi Bishara’s, were raised to vote confidence in Barak, the same Barak who
ignored every promise he made to the Israeli Arabs, who is exercising now the
land confiscations at Ein-Mahl in order to enlarge The Jewish section of
Nazareth? Unlike the religious Shas, Hadash doesn’t even need to be bribed. It
can always be trusted to continue, even for free, to convince us that apartheid
actually means a Palestinian state.