The thought process is: Give statehood to the Palestinians and those groups will no longer have a “cause.” That may prove to be correct but accomplishing the goal is going to be extremely difficult, even with the support of the European Union, Russia and the UN. President Bush will release the long-awaited road map in the next few weeks. It ought to be based upon the draft published in November, 2002 which incorporated UN resolutions 242, 338, 1397, the Madrid Framework from the Madrid Conference, the Mitchell Report, the Bertini Report, the Tenet Plan and the initiative proposed by Crown Prince Abdullah.

Already the battle has begun as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is asking for over 100 revisions to be made to the plan. His response came from National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice who told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that the road map for a Palestinian state is not negotiable and that Israel must “play its part”. This is the first step in the right direction.

If the road map is open to debate, Prime Minister Sharon will use that debate as a means to delay action and he will dissect the program until there is nothing left. The road map must be presented as a final document that will not be changed. The next step is to be sure that the Madrid Framework is included in it. It is only within this framework issues concerning Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are addressed. If these Arab countries do not get the opportunity to resolve their land and legal disputes with Israel, a new state of Palestine will be only one piece in the incomplete puzzle. Another step is the implementation of the Mitchell Report. This report takes a hard line on Israeli settlements, suggests freezing of all settlement construction activity and even mentions settlements as a cause of both unrest and friction. The cost of maintaining these settlements to Israel is enormous at a time when its economy is severely strained. The Bertini Report that addresses the immediate humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people also should be implemented as one of the first actions. This will not only provide relief for the people but will increase trust in the peace process and help to silence the guns. All of these actions are important and challenging but the two most difficult will be the resolution of what to do with Jerusalem and gaining Israel’s full cooperation.

In spite of UN resolutions 252, 267 and 298 — all of which the United States supported — Israel is determined to keep unlawful control of Jerusalem and to make it the country’s capital. President Bush is making an error in judgment by stating that the status of Jerusalem must be negotiated between Israelis and the Palestinians. The solution is quite simply to remove Jerusalem from the equation by creating a separate city-state as was intended as part of the original UN plan in 1947. Under such a plan, Jerusalem would be governed jointly by Muslims, Christians and Jews. If Jerusalem is left divided or given exclusively to either Israel or Palestine, the repercussions will be unending. The final step in the process will be to enlist Israel’s full support. The United States is going to try and approach Israel with economic incentives to win this support.

The State Department has already requested $50 million in funding for Palestine and they have requested $1 billion in direct economic aid for Israel as well as $9 billion in loan guarantees to help rebuild the Israeli economy. These enormous sums are separate and in addition to the annual Israeli aid package. The Israeli people will have to decide just how much their occupied lands are worth. They are trying to absorb hundreds of thousands of new immigrants from what were the Eastern bloc nations and, at the same time, they are supporting a full time military that is constantly at war. Their fragile economy cannot afford to continue to support these strains indefinitely. This road map to peace is the correct direction for Israel to follow. The Bush administration must sell the program both to Israel and to the American public.

They cannot allow the debate in Congress to develop into a religious platform, uniting Jewish and Christian fundamentalists in solid opposition. One of the correct moves this administration made was in refusing to let the war on terrorism be played as a religious agenda. The administration will have to remove any doubts that it is deserting its staunch Jewish ally and undermining Israel’s security. If the Americans are wise, they will present Jerusalem as the symbol of their support for all three major religions. This will in turn help to pacify the Christians who will finally have some direct input into the running of the holy city. After all, they can honestly state that the very name Jerusalem means peace.

(Adrienne McPhail is a free-lance journalist based in Riyadh.)