BYE BYE GAZA - Barry Chamish

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It is also important that the Gaza withdrawal be a beginning,
not an end, to the political process. There must be a link
between what takes place in Gaza and a comprehensive
settlement to the Palestinian question if Abbas is to persuade
a majority of his people that diplomacy and compromise
deliver more than violence and confrontation.
Here, too, there is an important role for America to play. In
fact, the United States has already begun to do what is
required. In a September 2004 letter to Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, President Bush reassured Israelis that it was
"unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status
negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice
lines of 1949." The framework for a solution to the
Palestinian refugee issue "will need to be found through the
establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of
Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel."
These promises meant a great deal to Sharon as he faced
domestic political challenges. What is needed now is a
parallel letter from Bush to Abbas. Such a letter could spell
out the U.S. commitment to a viable, contiguous, sovereign
and independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines,
with compensation provided by Israel wherever territorial
adjustments are agreed.
Territorial return
In return, Palestinians would need to pledge to reject the use
of violence and terror once and for all. The United States
should not, however, make the establishment of a full
Palestinian democracy a prerequisite for territorial return and
peace. To delay negotiations until Palestinian democracy
matured would only persuade Palestinians that diplomacy
was a ruse and give many a reason to turn to violence.
After more than a half-century of Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
translating opportunity into reality will be difficult enough