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| Peace Now - UK Statement of Purpose |
| The Geneva Initiative - a summary |
| About
Peace Now |
Peace Now - UK Statement of Purpose
Peace Now - UK supports the right of the people
of Israel to live in peace and security. We work in the UK to promote the goals
of Shalom Ahshav -Peace Now, the grass roots Israeli peace movement, which campaigns
for a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours and a solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on mutual recognition self-determination
and peaceful co-existence.
Peace Now - UK supports the right of the Palestinian
people to live in peace and security and calls for the creation of a Palestinian
state alongside the State of Israel based on the pre-June 1967 borders, subject
to equitable, agreed modifications and mutual security arrangements.
urges both parties to resume unconditional negotiations
and advocates:
… an end to all violence
… an end to the occupation
… a freeze on settlement building with a view to the evacuation of settlements
To further these aims, undertakes educational programmes,
promotes public debate, conducts campaigns and fosters dialogue.
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THE GENEVA INITIATIVE - A SUMMARY
The Geneva Initiative is a model agreement for resolving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drafted by Palestinian representatives and
members of the Israeli Left. The document is 50 pages long, and was
negotiated over the last two years in a series of private meetings in Asia,
Europe, and the Middle East.
The Agreement is based on the two-state solution. The important parameters
of the Initiative are based on past milestones, including: the Oslo
agreement and its subsequent chapters; Camp David II; the Taba agreements;
the Clinton Parameters; and finally, the Bush vision of 2002 and the roadmap
itself. The plan envisions a Palestinian state on nearly all of the West
Bank and Gaza, Israel keeping large settlement blocs close to its territory
in return for land from pre-1967 Israel, Palestinian sovereignty over the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall and its
tunnels, and shared control of the Old City. In return, Palestinians would
give up their demand for the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees and
their descendants to Israel proper. A complex compensation plan is
provided. Israel would decide on the number of Palestinians who would
accept.
The following is an outline of the Initiative's major points as paraphrased
from the text:
Relations between the Parties:
Both the state of Israel and the future state of Palestine
shall recognize one another and establish full relations.
The two states shall cooperate in areas of common interest
(i.e. security, economics), but not interfere in each other's
internal affairs.
Implementation and Verification Group:
An Implementation and Verification Group (IVG) shall be established
to guarantee, monitor, and resolve disputes relating to the
Agreement's implementation. The IVG shall include the U.S.,
Russia, the EU, the UN and other mutually agreed upon parties
Territory:
The International Borders between the States of Palestine
and Israel shall be based on the June 4th 1967 lines with
reciprocal modifications in accordance with UNSC Resolutions
242 and 338. Israel shall be responsible for resettling Israelis
residing in Palestinian sovereign territory according to an
agreed upon timetable. The states of Palestine and Israel
shall establish a corridor linking the West Bank and Gaza
Strip which will be permanently open, under Israeli sovereignty,
and Palestinian administration.
Security:
Palestine and Israel shall refrain from the threat or use
of force against the territorial integrity or political independence
of the other, and shall establish a Joint Security Committee.
No armed forces, other than as specified in this Agreement,
will be deployed or stationed in Palestine, which will be
a non-militarized state with a strong Palestinian Security
Force (PSF).
A Multinational Force (MF) shall be established to provide security
guarantees and act as a deterrent against attacks.
Israel shall complete its withdrawal from the territory of the state of
Palestine within 30 months of the Agreement.
All International border crossings shall be monitored by teams composed of
members of the PSF and MF who will have the authority to block the entry
into Palestine of weapons and any other materials that contravene the
Agreement.
Jerusalem:
The Parties shall have their mutually recognized capitals
in the areas of Jerusalem. The al-Haram al Sharif / Temple
Mount shall be under the sovereignty of Palestine. A Multinational
Presence shall be established on the Compound to deal with
security and conservation. The Wailing Wall shall be under
Israeli sovereignty.
Refugees:
Refugees shall be entitled to compensation for their refugee
status and for loss of property. Palestinian refugee claims
shall be terminated upon the realization of an individual
refugee's permanent place of residence.
Sites of Religious Significance:
The Parties shall establish special arrangements to guarantee
access to agreed sites of religious significance.
Courtesy the Israel Policy Forum
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PEACE NOW - the Israeli Peace Movement - was founded
in 1978 by 348 reserve officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. The
first and only mass peace movement in Israel, PEACE NOW rapidly became the single
most important extra-parliamentary force for peace in the country, attracting
hundreds of thousands to its mass rallies and activities.
The first and primary goal of PEACE NOW has been to press the Israeli government
to seek peace - through negotiations and mutual compromise - with our Arab neighbors
and the Palestinian people. Only peace will bring security to Israel and ensure
the future of our people.
PEACE NOW adheres to the Zionist values upon which the State of Israel was
founded, believing that a democratic, Jewish state can and must be secured without
subjecting another people. In recognition of the simple fact that there are two
peoples in this land, Palestinians and Jews, each with a history, claims and rights,
PEACE NOW has called for the recognition of the rights of the Palestinians to
self-determination in their own state, alongside Israel. To this end, PEACE NOW
led the struggle for negotiations with the PLO and over the past twenty years
succeeded in bringing a turn about in Israeli public opinion from less than 1%
in favor of the establishment of a Palestinian state to over 50% supporting this
in 1997. In the interests of a secure and lasting peace, it is envisaged that
the Palestinian state be demilitarized of certain weapons, and its western border
correspond in general to the green line, open to the movement of persons and goods.
Even the tragic scourge of terrorism can best be combated by a realistic and just
peace based on mutual agreement.
Born in the struggle for a peace treaty with Egypt and supporting the accords
reached, PEACE NOW has sought to solidify this peace through exchanges with Egyptian
officials and leading intellectuals formerly opposed to peace with Israel. PEACE
NOW led the mass movement against the 1982 war in Lebanon, mobilizing 400,000
people in protest and, ultimately, bringing about the Israeli withdrawal from
Lebanon. PEACE NOW continued to urge the resolution of issues with Lebanon and
the final withdrawal from southern Lebanon. PEACE NOW has advocated a peace agreement
with Syria on the basis of Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights in the framework
of security arrangements and the establishment of peaceful relations with Damascus.
Israel will never be secure so long as it is not at peace with this powerful neighbor.
Many issues remain to be solved in negotiations, most importantly with the
Palestinians. Perhaps the most sensitive of these is the issue of Jerusalem. A
mutually acceptable solution can and must be found, giving expression to the national
and political rights of the 200,000 Palestinians of East Jerusalem. The municipal
borders, altered by Israel after the Six-Day War, may be readjusted, and the two
states may have their capitals in Jerusalem: the Palestinians in the Arab areas,
the Israelis in our areas. The religious sites must be open to all.
Over the years PEACE NOW has struggled against the injustices of the occupation
and the creation of obstacles to the achievement of peace, including and especially
obstacles to the principle of territory for peace. The building of settlements
in the occupied territories constitutes the major obstacle to peace, designed
by successive Likud governments to prevent the return of land and the creation
of a viable Palestinian state. In the framework of a final peace accord, some
settlements may be absorbed into Israel, some will be disbanded; those remaining
will be subject to Palestinian sovereignty and law.
PEACE NOW PROJECTS
Settlement Watch
A project begun in the wake of the Likud governments' massive building campaign
in the occupied territories in the late 1980s, Settlement Watch monitors and documents
the expropriation of land, building of new settlements, expansion of existing
settlements and the demographic, economic, and security ramifications of these
activities in the West Bank and Gaza. This information forms the basis for protest
activity as well as lobbying and court appeals. It was our information that was
a central factor in the 1992 elections when the Labor Party adopted the call to
end the huge allocations to the settlements and to shift priorities to development
in lower socio-economic sectors of Israeli society. PEACE NOW continues to publish
periodic reports on building in the settlements and the dangers that such expansion
presents to the possibility of territorial compromise and the establishment of
a viable Palestinian state.
Jerusalem
PEACE NOW seeks to prevent changes in the status quo within Jerusalem prior
to negotiations and to minimize the violations of the rights of the Palestinians
in East Jerusalem. Through appeals to the courts, vigils, demonstrations and lobbying,
the Jerusalem project has been fighting land expropriation and illegal take-overs
of houses and areas of East Jerusalem. It has also been opposing the quiet "transfer"
of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, undertaken by the Jerusalem municipality
and the government by means of withdrawal of identity cards, denial of residence
to families and to persons returning from abroad, and other devices such as refusal
to grant building permits and economic strangulation through closure of the city
to West Bank and Gaza residents.
Dialogue
From the mid-1980s PEACE NOW conducted dialogues with the Palestinian leaders
in the territories and abroad in order to develop understanding of each side's
needs and interests. These led to many joint activities, vigils, marches, and
symposia aimed at demonstrating that there was a real partner for negotiations.
Following the Oslo Accords, the joint activity shifted to broader grass roots
dialogue in the belief that peace could be durable only if the barriers and hostility
of decades of bloodshed and war were broken and understanding and cooperation
created among the two peoples. With the breakdown of the peace process under the
Netanyahu government, the dialogues continued as an important means of keeping
channels of communication - and hope - open. The dialogue project today involves
hundreds of people, with groups paired between, for example, Ramallah and Jerusalem,
Tulkarm and Kfar Saba, Haifa and Nablus, Beersheva and Gaza.
Youth
In 1991 PEACE NOW established its youth wing which rapidly grew to encompass
hundreds of 12-18 year olds within just a few years. Directing themselves, Peace
Now youth engages in mobilization for peace through the types of activities (vigils,
demonstrations, symposia) characteristic of the parent movement, but also through
youth activities such as bicycle trips, marathons, marches, and artistic endeavors
-- all designed to publicize the message of peace and engage increasing numbers
of young people. A significant part of the youth effort revolves around dialogue
and joint activities with Palestinian youth. Beginning often with the stone-throwing
children of the intifada and the Israeli youth about to be inducted into the army,
the meetings of the youngsters presented an emotional as well as intellectual
challenge for all concerned. The extraordinary will of these young people to recognize
and communicate with each other, to end the bloody conflict and build a basis
for peace between their two peoples, has propelled this project to a central place
in a peace movement building for the future.
Peace Now Abroad
The Israeli-Jordanian Peace Agreement opened new possibilities for the region,
but peace between the peoples of the two countries would not come over night.
Upon the initiative of PEACE NOW and of both Jordanian and Egyptian intellectuals,
exchanges have begun between us and these neighbors. A determined effort is being
made to bring together students as well as adults, to familiarize them with the
society and culture of the other, to seek to overcome the mutual suspicion born
of so many years of hostility.
No less important are the close ongoing contwith the Jewish Diaspora, through
sister organizations abroad. The efforts of the strong and vigorous AMERICANS
FOR PEACE NOW have become an integral part of the struggle for peace. Similar,
highly valued activities are also conducted by the CANADIAN FRIENDS OF PEACE NOW,
VREDE NU in Holland, LES AMIS DE LA PAIX MAINTENANT in Belgium, THE Peace Now - UK, and others in Europe and parts of Latin America. We believe that
Jews who have a concern for the future of Israel also have a stake in the peace
process. We seek their support and assistance for making peace, just as Israelis
have always sought the support of world Jewry for survival and defense. Israel
is the state of the Jewish people; PEACE NOW is its voice for a secure Israel
at peace.
ORGANIZATION
PEACE NOW is a non-partisan, volunteer movement with branches throughout Israel,
in the major cities and in the kibbutz movement. The branches meet regularly,
usually every two weeks, and send representatives to the National Secretariat
meeting every other week. Policy decisions of the movement are made by the Secretariat,
while the branches conduct activities often on an autonomous basis. Most branches
have committees which feed into the committees at the national level, in such
areas as: activities, organization, publicity and written materials, youth, students,
new immigrants, development, dialogue, contacts abroad, settlement watch, mobilization.
PEACE NOW employs a secretary-general, a spokesperson, organizers, coordinators,
and youth leaders.
PEACE NOW is open to any and all persons dedicated to the struggle for a peaceful,
just and lasting end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the belief that security,
human dignity and a promising future can only come through peace.
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