Jordan Times
Monday, May 31, 1999
Bishara sees declaration of Palestinian state, confederation as premature
By Saad G. Hattar
AMMAN — Azmi Bishara, who dropped out of the race for Israeli prime minister as the first such Arab candidate, said on Sunday he was opposed to the declaration of a Palestinian state at this stage and hailed Jordan's stand to defer discussion of a proposed confederation with the Palestinians until final status talks have concluded.
“From a Palestinian and pan-Arab standpoint, I oppose the declaration now of a Palestinian state because such a step would only be symbolic at the expense of gains on the ground,” said Bishara in a lecture hosted by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan.
He said Jordan's position not to “discuss a confederacy now with the Palestine National Authority serves Palestinian interests.”
For Bishara, any premature talk about confederation would give Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak a negotiating card against the Palestinians.
“Barak would simply tell the Palestinians to look for their rights elsewhere if they build unity with Jordan,” he said.
Bishara believes that the Kingdom places its ties with the Palestinians on top of its national agenda, whereas for the PNA, relations with Jordan take a backseat in priorities in favour of the struggle with Israel.
The Arab-Israeli politician, however, underlined the deep, unshakeable bonds at the grassroots level between Jordanians and Palestinians.
The PNA has often floated the prospect of a confederation with Jordan, but the latter always maintained that such a move was premature before the Palestinians establish their own state on their soil.
Bishara, a 43-year-old Israeli citizen from the Arab town of Nazareth, is a member of the Arab Democratic bloc of the Israeli Knesset and holds a PhD in philosophy in the history of political thought. He raised eyebrows when he announced his candidacy for the premiership in the first such “gamble” by an Arab-Israeli.
He dropped his bid only days before the May 17 elections.
“By retracting my candidacy I supported (Labour Party leader) Ehud Barak to win the elections,” Bishara told the audience. “Most Arabs backed Barak in his battle to oust Likud Party” leader Benyamin Netanyahu, he said.
But Bishara warned that Arab-Israelis, who make up one-fifth of Israel's population of 5 million, should not hold high expectations following Barak's landslide victory.
“We should have been negotiated with Barak before his victory not after,” he said noting that Barak — in his negotiations to form a coalition government — will favour right-wing and religious parties at the expense of Arab members of Knesset.
He said that declaring a Palestinian state would shift the emphasis “from genuine issues on the ground to whether the fledgling state would be recognised at the expense of basic conditions” of its establishment.
“Those Palestinian pre-requisites — which should have been solved in the self-rule talks — include an immediate halt to settlements, setting up a corridor between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as solving the plight of prisoners in Israeli jails.”
Therefore, Bishara added, the Palestine National Authority should not burn its bridges towards entering final status talks before solving the outstanding issues.
Otherwise, Israel will find it easy to “visualise a stillborn state in the shadow of scattered settlements and united Jerusalem.”
Under those circumstances, their will be “dual sovereignty over one state,” he said.
The final status talks had been slated for May 4, the initial date for the declaration of a Palestinian state as pledged by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Prodded by world leaders, notably peace broker U.S. President Bill Clinton, Arafat postponed his declaration on the eve of May 4.
Bishara said Barak's scenarios lie in pulling out from the self-designed security zone Israel has occupied in south since 1978.
But Barak will have to calculate his steps properly, he warned.
“... if he pulls out unilaterally without security guarantees, the risk of recurrent attacks will always loom. But if he sought security guarantees Syria will put a foothold in this equation,” Bishara explained.
By and large, Barak will give the priority to the Syrian and Lebanese tracks side by side with a move towards implementing the Wye River accord with the Palestinians.
Bishara believes that the PNA is heading towards tough negotiations in final status talks in light of a looming nationalistic cabinet headed by Barak.
“The best way out for the PNA is to enter the talks in the presence of Syria as part of the political game,” added Bishara, noting the “PNA is probably in favour of this move.”
Finally, Bishara said, Jordan will have a role in the final status talks, and he called for Arab countries to muster support for the Kingdom and the PNA.