Camp David - The Reality of the Myth

The Camp David summit in July 2000, attempted to reach a permanent settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It failed. Two months later following the visit of Ariel Sharon to the Haram Al Sharif (Temple Mount), the second Palestinian uprising or Intifada erupted. Palestinians were blamed. Was this fair?

Myth: The Palestinians rejected the path to peace by refusing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s “generous offer” at Camp David.
Reality:
- The offer was never made in writing. It offered a non-sovereign Palestinian state with no fair resolution of key issues: Jerusalem, refugees, borders and water.
- By January 2001 at Taba there was a much improved offer on the table proving that the original offer was not so “generous” at all.

Myth: The Israeli offer included nearly all the occupied Palestinian territories.
Reality:
- Palestinian territory would have been divided into four separate cantons, surrounded and controlled entirely by Israel.
- Israel would retain control over the Palestinians borders and airspace
- Illegal Israeli settlements would be annexed by Israel in blocs. These annexations would destroy the contiguity of the Palestinian state, and give Israel control of the main West Bank aquifer. This would exacerbate further the already disproportionate allocation of water resources in Israel’s favour.
- Israel would “lease” the Jordan valley, a further 10% of Palestinian territory on a renewable ten year basis.

Myth: The Palestinians never compromised
Reality: The Palestinians had already made a significant compromise by recognising Israeli sovereignty over 78% of historic Palestine (23% more than Israel was granted in the 1947 UN Partition Plan). Palestinians were prepared to accept what was only 22 per cent of their country.

Myth: Barak offered a fair exchange of land to compensate for annexing Israeli settlements.
Reality: He offered a 9:1 ratio swap of land in Israel’s favour. This was to absorb 80% of the illegal Israeli settlements.

Myth: The Palestinians were offered a sovereign capital in East Jerusalem
Reality: The Palestinians were offered a capital outside Jerusalem and only partial autonomy of some Arab areas in Jerusalem.

Myth: The Palestinians destroyed all progress made since the Oslo Accords by returning to violence.
Reality:
- Oslo was meant to offer the Palestinians concrete improvements to their lives and a permanent settlement after 5 years which would implement UN Resolutions 242 and 338. Instead they experienced a serious decline in their economic situation due to restrictive Israeli policies .
- Severe violations of human rights continued including torture, land confiscation, house demolitions and restrictions on freedom of movement. Closures, checkpoints and curfews were commonplace.
- More and more Palestinian land was confiscated. The number of Jewish settlers doubled between 1993 and 2000.
- 740 Palestinian homes were demolished
- Palestinians (both Christian and Muslim) continued to be denied access to the Holy Sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem
- Israel had failed to comply with all agreements since the Oslo process and the Palestinians felt betrayed.

Ariel Sharon’s provocative visit to the Haram Al Sharif in September 2000 ignited the intense disillusionment and frustration among the Palestinian population. In the first month of the Intifada, 117 Palestinians were killed compared to 10 Israelis. (B’tselem) This Israeli excessive use of force designed to crush the Palestinian protest set the precedent for the cycle of bloodshed and violence that has ensued.

Myth: Arafat is solely to blame for the collapse of the Camp David negotiations.
Reality: Both Israeli and US negotiators have said that this was not the case. Robert Malley, former special assistant to President Clinton on Arab-Israeli affairs and Shlomo Ben Ali, Isareli Minister for Foreign Affairs, both offered criticisms of all parties involved. Terje Roed-Larsen, UN Special Envoy said that “All three parties made mistakes, and in such complex negotiations, everyone is bound to. But no-one is solely to blame”

Myth: The Palestinians threw away a historic opportunity for peace at Camp David. The negotiations were a complete failure.
Reality: Although Camp David did not provide a solution to the conflict, significant progress was made in some areas. The previous taboo issue of dividing Jerusalem was finally raised. Arafat was right to turn down Barak’s “generous offer” . It simply did not offer the Palestinians their legally recognised right to an independent and viable state. Barak himself said that no Israeli leader would ever be able to go further than he did at Camp David, yet at the Taba Accords six months later, Barak had significantly offer.

The Forgotten Issue: the Palestinian Refugees— this issue remained unresolved at Camp David. 70% of Palestinians are refugees and their fate must not be forgotten.