Israel/Palestine - Geneva Accord

In December 2003, a group of Israelis and Palestinians - led by former Palestianian information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo and former Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin - unveiled an unofficial Middle East peace initiave in Geneva: The Geneva Accord.

Based both on the parameters set out by President Clinton and the internationally endorsed 'Road Map', the Geneva Accord, or Geneva Initiative, offers a detailed blueprint for a final status agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. It provides solutions for all fundamental issues, including Jerusalem, the refugee problem, and permanent borders.

The negotiators of the Geneva Accord are not official representatives of the Israeli or Palestinian governments, and the Initiative itself is a model document rather than an official treaty. Nevertheless, the Geneva Accord has yielded a number of positive results:

• There is a partner:
  • The Geneva Accord convincingly disproves the idea that "there is no partner", a notion both governments have repeatedly asserted.The fact that Israeli and Palestinian representatives have been able to agree upon a solution to all the problems posed by the current conflict shows that there is indeed a common ground for both sides to meet. This is confirmed by the widespread support for the Accord's main tenets among both Palestinians and Israelis.
• The need for a plan:
  • While not greeted with much enthusiasm by either the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Geneva Initiative has undoubtedly increased pressure on both sides to present plans of their own. Witness, for instance, the timing of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to unilaterally disengage from Gaza (see our Gaza disengagement section).

In a period of conflict and violence, the Geneva Initiative serves as a solid and realistic reminder that peace is possible. Sponsored in part by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it has received broad support from a large variety of NGOs as well as former and current heads of government.

Further information and links:

• The full text of the Geneva Accord from its official website.
• Articles and analyses of the Geneva Initiative from Ha'aretz, Israel's leading independent newspaper.
• Ha'aretz Q&A session with Yossi Beilin, chief Israeli negotiator of the Geneva Accord and former justice minister.

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