Kucinich on the Middle East (updated)
From the campaign's issues page on the Middle East
Israel and Palestine
For the past three years, Israelis and Palestinians have been locked in bitter, violent struggle. Many are tempted to see this as merely the latest chapter in an endless and timeless tragedy. And it's not. Not only is a just and peaceful solution possible -- it's inevitable. This was brought home to all of us recently, at the signing of the Geneva Accords by courageous Israelis and Palestinians.
We need to keep in mind that there is no such thing as a victory for one side. No "win-lose" solutions are possible, only "win-win" outcomes. Coercion of one side or the other cannot succeed, no matter how strongly one might want it, or how much force might be brought to bear. Recently, four previous directors of the Israeli General Security Service stated publicly that Israel is headed for a disaster that can only be averted by a peace agreement with the Palestinians. This meeting took place not long after the Israeli Chief of Staff admitted to journalists that the policy of using force and punitive measures had not only failed to contain Palestinian violence, it was in fact exacerbating it.
Israelis are living in fear, an understandable result of more than three years of suicide bombings and other terror attacks against civilians. The measures carried out against the Palestinian population have the support of many Israelis, because of the logic of fear. But as those outspoken military men have pointed out, this logic is leading to unacceptable outcomes, both in failing to protect Israelis, and in terms of human rights abuses committed against Palestinians.
These measures include hundreds of roadblocks, mostly separating Palestinians from each other. The roadblocks are one of the two defining features of the occupation, since they define every sphere of existence; access to jobs, schools, medical care, relatives and friends. The other defining feature is the growth and spread of settlements, all of which are illegal under international law. The daily hardships imposed by Israel and the loss of land fuel the despair that leads to terror. It's time to fight terror with the only weapon left in Israel's arsenal: hope.
As we watch our brothers and sisters suffer and die, we shouldn't be asking which side to join, which side to strengthen so as to defeat the other. The question is, how can we use our power to foster healing and reconciliation? The power and faith of the American people has been used that way in the past in that part of the world, particularly by President Carter and President Clinton. Today we need to call on that spirit and go with it further than ever before.
The recent signing of a model peace agreement known as the Geneva Accord embodies a change in the logic of peacemaking. Instead of small steps leading to an uncertain future, unofficial negotiators -- with a high standing in their respective societies -- have shown us what a comprehensive peace agreement might look like. It has inspired optimism all over the world, because of the potential it has to unblock the dialogue between the Israeli and Palestinian societies.
That's why I've come out to affirm my support for HR 479, introduced on December 9, 2003, by Congresswoman Lois Capps along with 31 other cosponsors, myself included. The resolution states that the Geneva Accord and other private initiatives "demonstrate that both Israelis and Palestinians have a partner for peace, that both peoples want to end the current vicious stalemate, and that both peoples are prepared to make necessary compromises in order to achieve peace."
Israelis and Palestinians, locked in to a recursive conflict that feeds on itself, need to see more private initiatives, and more American support for them, as evidence that we will be there to assist in ending the conflict with our resources and moral power. We cannot do this when what investment we currently have is so overwhelmingly weighted towards military means. I'd like to invite the other Democratic candidates for president to join me in supporting the spirit of the Geneva Accord, which demonstrates that representatives from both Israel and Palestine can negotiate a mutually beneficial and mutually agreeable contract to resolve their longstanding conflict.
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