NEW YORK: When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with his US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House in early May, he praised the latter’s “negotiating abilities” and told him: “With you, we have hope.”
This optimism will add to the high Palestinian expectations of Trump’s upcoming visit to Israel, and his vow to achieve peace between Arabs and Israelis.
Trump fueled this optimism when he said: “We will get it done. We will be working so hard to get it done.”
He is not the first US president to want to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Countless negotiating hours have led to agreements, accords, understandings and roadmaps, but not to peace.
One of the most enduring agreements was the Oslo Accords, which led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority and was the first bilateral Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
Arab News met the architect of the Oslo talks, Terje Rod-Larsen in New York and asked what the Trump negotiating team can learn from the accords.
“Parts of the model we used in Oslo in 1993 wouldn’t fit the challenges of today, because an Arab-Israeli or Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement has little chance of succeeding unless the key regional and international players are involved,” he said.
“A broker has to come to conduct bilateral negotiations with the regional players — Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and the key Gulf states — and also top international players — the US, Russia, EU and UN — to get a broad consensus on the parameters of an agreement that could lead to a major peace agreement.”
He added: “This will be critically dependent on pre-negotiations with the key players. To move straight to an international conference without pre-negotiations and clear understandings of what’s possible would lead nowhere.”
He said: “The US can’t do it alone. It must play a leading role, but it will be critically dependent on creating an alliance with other key players in the region.”
On whether the weakened Palestinian and Arab position in the region is conducive to pressuring Israel to come to the negotiating table, he said: “There’s one very important element, that the perception of Israel and some Sunni Arab countries is very similar toward Iran’s activities in various theaters of conflict in the region. This could lead, if handled correctly, to necessary compromises and a win-win situation.”
He added: “Looking at the regional picture, the lack of institutional arrangements in the region is counter-productive to conflict-resolution. In all regions of the world, countries that are adversaries are members of regional organizations where there are mechanisms for conflict-resolution and platforms to voice their disagreements and seek compromises. The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region is the least coordinated, integrated and organized in the world. This vacuum invites conflict. There’s no organization in the region that encompasses all key Arab states, Turkey, Iran and Israel. It’s high time this is corrected.”
In answer to a question on how Arab states can sit with countries that occupy Arab land, such as Israel and Iran, he said: “The Europeans are members of the same organizations as Russia, and at the same time they have major conflicts with Russia. Conflict-prevention is based on getting enemies together, not friends.”
He added: “There’s no solution but a two-state solution, because a binational state between Jews and Palestinians is inviting eternal conflict. Many would say the two-state solution is dead, but if the regional and international parties could find a formula for a reasonable two-state solution, it would get massive support from the Israeli and Palestinian sides.”
Regarding this conflict, “you don’t need any new plans, all the plans are on the table. Everybody knows what the painful compromises are. Finding a way isn’t a great intellectual challenge, it’s a challenge of political will.”
On whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the political will, Rod-Larsen said: “If it goes to the table invited by Trump, and is handled in a sensible way, Netanyahu has a chance to prove what he said publicly about a two-state solution. He said it, so implement it.”
Rod-Larsen said the Arab Peace Initiative “could provide a robust platform for starting new peace talks, because the principles in it are still valid.”
On Trump’s optimism that reaching peace is easy and can be done, he said: “It’s possible to reach an agreement, but it has to be done in a skillful way. I applaud the intent and the attempt to restart negotiations. So far in this field, Trump has said and done the right things. The challenge is how to implement it, and that’s a tall order.”
Rod-Larsen’s advice to Jared Kushner, whom Trump said will oversee Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts, is: “You need an inclusive regional approach on a parallel basis, with dialogue with the parties. For a long-term solution, and to create the necessary political context for a viable and longstanding peace, you need regional institutions for conflict-resolution.” Can main obstacles such as Jerusalem and settlements be solved? “Yes they can.”
Israeli-Palestinian peace still possible, says Oslo Accords architect
Israeli-Palestinian peace still possible, says Oslo Accords architect
Proposals on immigration enforcement flood into state legislatures, heightened by Minnesota action
- Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal officers for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: As Democrats across the country propose state law changes to restrict federal immigration officers after the shooting death of a protester in Minneapolis, Tennessee Republicans introduced a package of bills Thursday backed by the White House that would enlist the full force of the state to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Momentum in Democratic-led states for the measures, some of them proposed for years, is growing as legislatures return to work following the killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. But Republicans are pushing back, blaming protesters for impeding the enforcement of immigration laws.
Democratic bills seek to limit ICE
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wants New York to allow people to sue federal officers alleging violations of their constitutional rights. Another measure aims to keep immigration officers lacking judicial warrants out of schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal officers for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.
New Jersey’s Democrat-led Legislature passed three bills Monday that immigrant rights groups have long pushed for, including a measure prohibiting state law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has until his last day in office Tuesday to sign or veto them.
California lawmakers are proposing to ban local and state law enforcement from taking second jobs with the Department of Homeland Security and make it a violation of state law when ICE officers make “indiscriminate” arrests around court appearances. Other measures are pending.
“Where you have government actions with no accountability, that is not true democracy,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco said at a news conference.
Democrats also push bills in red states
Democrats in Georgia introduced four Senate bills designed to limit immigration enforcement — a package unlikely to become law because Georgia’s conservative upper chamber is led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally. Democrats said it is still important to take a stand.
“Donald Trump has unleashed brutal aggression on our families and our communities across our country,” said state Sen. Sheikh Rahman, an immigrant from Bangladesh whose district in suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County is home to many immigrants.
Democrats in New Hampshire have proposed numerous measures seeking to limit federal immigration enforcement, but the state’s Republican majorities passed a new law taking effect this month that bans “sanctuary cities.”
Tennessee GOP works with White House on a response
The bills Tennessee Republicans are introducing appear to require government agencies to check the legal status of all residents before they can obtain public benefits; secure licenses for teaching, nursing and other professions; and get driver’s licenses or register their cars.
They also would include verifying K-12 students’ legal status, which appears to conflict with a US Supreme Court precedent. And they propose criminalizing illegal entry as a misdemeanor, a measure similar to several other states’ requirements, some of which are blocked in court.
“We’re going to do what we can to make sure that if you’re here illegally, we will have the data, we’ll have the transparency, and we’re not spending taxpayer dollars on you unless you’re in jail,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said at a news conference Thursday.
Trump administration sues to stop laws
The Trump administration has opposed any effort to blunt ICE, including suing local governments whose “sanctuary” policies limit police interactions with federal officers.
States have broad power to regulate within their borders unless the US Constitution bars it, but many of these laws raise novel issues that courts will have to sort out, said Harrison Stark, senior counsel with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
“There’s not a super clear, concrete legal answer to a lot of these questions,” he said. “It’s almost guaranteed there will be federal litigation over a lot of these policies.”
That is already happening.
California in September was the first to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration officers, from covering their faces on duty. The Justice Department said its officers won’t comply and sued California, arguing that the laws threaten the safety of officers who are facing “unprecedented” harassment, doxing and violence.
The Justice Department also sued Illinois last month, challenging a law that bars federal civil arrests near courthouses, protects medical records and regulates how universities and day care centers manage information about immigration status. The Justice Department claims the law is unconstitutional and threatens federal officers’ safety.
Targeted states push back
Minnesota and Illinois, joined by their largest cities, sued the Trump administration this week. Minneapolis and Minnesota accuse the Republican administration of violating free speech rights by punishing a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants. Illinois and Chicago claim “Operation Midway Blitz” made residents afraid to leave their homes.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety and called the Illinois lawsuit “baseless.”
