Page 39 - Signs of the End

THE SIGNS OF THE END 3

which were sworn enemies and which did not recognize each
other officially, met for many months to work out the agreement.

Suddenly, and with considerable fanfare, the Clinton
administration announced the agreement to the world, and with
former Presidents Bush and Carter, members of Congress, and
leaders of many nations in attendance, Rabin and Arafat signed
the accord in the brilliant Washington, D.C. sunlight on the lawn
of the White House. Exactly what w as in this agreement, and
what did it mean?

The contents of the peace agreement were not fully compre­
hended by the public immediately, and there are many parts of
the accord that are intentionally vague or ambiguous. However,
it is clear that a gradual, five-year process is intended. During
this period the Arab communities in what is commonly called the
"West Bank" will come under autonomous Arab control, and the
Israeli army will withdraw from these same areas. That is the
general framework, but there are many details of the process
which are at best unclear.

Beginning with Jericho and Gaza

The first phase of the process begins with Israel turning over
to the Arabs the cities of Jericho and Gaza, with their surround­
ing immediate territoiy. Arafat has virtually announced that he
is the President of Palestine and will place his headquarters in
Jericho.

In reality, the Israelis are just as happy to give up Gaza, with
all its problems. As Abba Eban recently said in the U.S., Israel
has accomplished a diplomatic coup by making the world think
it has given something up by letting Gaza go. Nobody really
wants Gaza. Egypt turned it down when it was working out its
peace agreement with Israel, and Gaza has been a continual thorn
in Israel's side as a perpetual Arab slum and center of unrest on
the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv. If the Arabs can
bring this area under productive control, the Israelis will be quite
pleased.

But Jericho is another matter. While it is not a large city
now, it is very strategic, much as it w as in the time of Joshua
some 3,400 years ago. Located in the deep Jordan valley about