bitterlemons: How do you assess the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace process following the Annapolis summit?

Tibi: Nothing surprising has occurred. From the very beginning
we knew we are only initiating final status negotiations thanks to
international involvement. This is not much more than a step in the
right direction. There were no negotiations in Annapolis and that’s why
I believe it was a non-event. Things in the Middle East are relative
and that’s why some Palestinian leaders look positively on the
agreement to initiate final status negotiations, but on the ground the
Palestinians’ hard life, suffering and humiliation has not been
relieved.

That the international community is accompanying this process is also a
positive thing. But the withdrawal of the Israeli government from
Olmert’s original intent to talk seriously about core issues such as
Jerusalem, refugees, borders and settlements is a negative development
that reflects coalition considerations.

bitterlemons: From 1993 to 1999 you were an adviser to Yasser
Arafat. Can you compare then and now in terms of the possibility of an
Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

Tibi: I took part in the Madrid conference and was a spokesman
for the Palestinian delegation at Wye River. There and at Camp David we
had negotiations; here we have a startup. So I’m not optimistic that
we’ll settle the final status issues by the end of 2008. If [Prime
Minister Ehud] Olmert can’t convince his defense minister, Ehud Barak,
to remove roadblocks, I’m not sure he’ll be able to convince his
coalition to go forward on the core issues.

As for the comparison between Arafat and Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], no
two people are alike. Arafat was a symbol and was charismatic; Abu
Mazen is chairman of the PLO and president of the PA, he is authorized
to negotiate and is capable. If the vision of two states collapses, the
international community will press for a bi-national state.

bitterlemons: In Arafat’s day the Palestinian citizens of Israel
were perceived as a bridge to peace between Israel and the
Palestinians. Have they now become part of the problem rather than part
of the solution?

Tibi: Nobody is dealing with us as a bridge today. The
statements of Deputy PM [Avigdor] Lieberman and Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni, talking about the Palestinian state as the national solution for
the Palestinian citizens of Israel, are creating a problem. They place
question marks over the policy of this government toward the Arab
minority in Israel. Those ministers behave toward us as non-citizens
who can be moved about like chess pieces. We can’t accept that. We want
our national identity in parallel to our citizenship, to give it real
content. Meanwhile Livni is willing to tell Arab citizens, you can move
if you wish to an independent Palestinian state. This is not the way a
government should deal with its citizens. We are not immigrants to this
county, Lieberman is. We are indigenous.

bitterlemons: The position papers and draft constitutions
published during the past year by mainstream groups of Palestinian
citizens of Israel, rejecting Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, are
cited as having contributed to attitudes like that expressed by Livni.

Tibi: I’m not sure this was the trigger for her position. Livni
comes from the Likud; she’s originally a rightist. I’m not sure her
ideology changed on the way from the Likud to Kadima. There is no trust
between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority in Israel. Arabs are
being treated as enemies, not as core citizens. They are marginalized.
The definition of Israel as a Jewish state is perceived as deepening
discrimination against non-Jews. Both the majority and minority in
Israel have a responsibility to repair relations, but the majority has
more tools to do this. Instead we are neglected and pushed away. Look
what is going on in the Knesset with anti-Arab legislation.

bitterlemons: For Olmert to succeed in a peace process, he may
need the support of some or all of the 10 members of Knesset who
represent Arab parties. Would you join his coalition if the issue ever
came up?

Tibi: No, we don’t support any coalition. We support a positive
peace process. Here we mean my Knesset faction with its four mandates,
but also in general the majority of the 10 members of Knesset. If there
is any move toward withdrawal from occupied territories or a genuine
peace process, we will not be an obstacle. I won’t let Lieberman bring
down the coalition. If my vote becomes the deciding one, I will support
a peace process.

bitterlemons: But suppose you were invited to join or officially support the coalition.

Tibi: The constellation is possible, yet I don’t trust this government as willing to go forward.

bitterlemons: Are the Arab members of Knesset trying to mediate in the dispute between Fateh and Hamas?

Tibi: We tried to do so two months ago. We met with Abu Mazen
and tried to meet with Hamas in Gaza but were forbidden to enter the
Gaza Strip by the [Israel] Defense Ministry. The [Hamas-Fateh] split is
causing real damage to the Palestinian cause. I cannot accept the
situation created by the military coup in Gaza. We should return to the
status quo ante.- Published 10/12/2007 (c) bitterlemons.org

Ahmed Tibi is deputy speaker of the Knesset and a leader of the Arab Movement for Change. He has been a member of Knesset since 1999.