Foreign Policy: Think Again: Yasir Arafat

Foreign Policy: Think Again: Yasir Arafat: "No Israeli government (not Ariel Sharon�s, not Ehud Barak�s, not Benjamin Netanyahu�s, not Shimon Peres�s) has accepted or will accept an imposed outcome.

Those who argue for an imposed solution claim no Israeli leader can make the hard decisions, such as giving up settlements, most of the West Bank and Gaza, and the Arab part of East Jerusalem. Yet Barak was prepared to do so; and before the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Israeli public was ready to support him. In a recent trip to Israel, I found a far-reaching consensus—encompassing the left and the right in Israel—for acceptance of a Clinton-like solution, provided the Palestinians are truly prepared to forsake terror, violence, and the right of return to Israel."

Ambassador Dennis B. Ross is director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He was the lead negotiator on the Middle East peace process in the first Bush and both Clinton administrations.