The "breaking the impasse" initiative that has brought together some leading Israeli and Palestinian businessmen is not an alternative to the peace process, but an attempt to support it. Munib al-Masri, the president of the Palestine Forum which was behind the idea of the initiative, addressed the issue at a news conference, attended by some 1,000 people who took part in the World Economic Forum conference on the Middle East at the Dead Sea. He said that the Palestinian private sector, as well as the Israeli participants in the initiative, rejected the idea of economic peace. I asked Munib about the initiative while we were taking part in the conference and found that there were many important details involved, so I asked him to send me a letter about the topic. He did this, and today's column relies on the information contained in the letter. Since the United States secretary of state, John Kerry, put forward ideas to stimulate the Palestinian economy, I believe that it is necessary to state up front that the idea for the "breaking the impasse" initiative preceded the American proposal by several months, and came up even before Kerry took over his duties as secretary of state. At the Istanbul edition of the World Economic Forum on the Middle Eastin 2012, Munib and his colleagues heard several speakers – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Professor Klaus Schwab, the executive chairman of the forum – say that the peace process had become frozen. Businessmen suggested to Schwab that the forum sponsor the initiative by them to revive the peace process, and he welcomed the idea. Palestinian businessmen want to cooperate with the Israeli business elite and press them to lobby their government to revive the peace process and the two-state solution. The efforts are based on a number of things, most importantly: -The initiative will not enter the provisions and details of a political solution, as core issues will be left to politicians. -There is coordination among concerned official parties. Officials have been supplied with the meetings of all sessions and meetings, and they took part in all stages of the businessmen's efforts. -After the first meeting, an agreement was reached to avoid entering into joint economic projects, and the notion of economic peace was rejected; there was an insistence on the priority of a political solution. -The Israeli and Palestinian sides agreed that their activity would remain within the framework of an urgent call for movement, so that each side retains its own principles and political stances. This is because unified stances cannot appear immediately; the Palestinians will retain their core stances, but both sides will take part in the urgent call, one free of political positions. Munib told me that the decision to not adopt a joint political stance was because things were not ripe enough yet for the Israelis, who need time to come up with their position and attract other Israelis to it – Israelis who have influence on decision-makers. We should also bear in mind that the initiative began with five Israelis who have now become 150, while there are around 300 Palestinians taking part. Each side represents about 25 percent of the GDP in its respective area. Kerry outlined his economic ideas for the occupied territories at the same place and time, which led many to link the two initiatives. But there is no such linkage at all. Palestinian and Israeli businessmen began more than a year earlier; Kerry has good intentions and is making efforts, but I believe that it was a coincidence to see the matter arise during the Dead Sea meeting. Munib has been devoted to the Palestinian cause and my confidence in him matches my confidence in myself. The entire initiative is aimed at supporting the peace process, and encouraging Israeli businessmen to pressure their government to move ahead on the road to peace, after 20 years of continual failure. I will not say that Munib and his friends will succeed, but one must try, and they are trying. I will continue in tomorrow's column about Kerry's political and economic ideas, and I have no reason to doubt his intentions. His past is well-known, just like President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The problem is the extremist Israeli government and I will say no more for now, because I am trying to be positive today. [email protected]
