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Gunilla Carlsson is Sweden's Minister for International
Development Cooperation. |
By Gunilla Carlsson
As I now return to
Palestine and Israel, I do so with increasing frustration that the
chance of a two-state solution risks being squandered.
Developments
on the ground speak for themselves. The illegal settlements are
expanding and displacing Palestinians who are forced to endure daily
harassment and blockades. Many people have to spend hours at checkpoints
on their way to school or work. Some are plagued by the fear of being
thrown out of house and home. In Gaza, almost total isolation continues.
Every year, the Palestinians' internal political divisions are
growing, as is the violence. And on the other side of the barbed wire,
the Israelis are living in growing insecurity and isolation, in a region
in a process of rapid change.
There is a risk that this
frustration will grow and that the world will turn its back on the
Israelis and Palestinians. We have a joint responsibility for, and
self-interest in, continuing to fight for peace in the Middle East.
Twenty years after the Oslo Accords there is still a chance to reach a
two-state solution. The United States is currently making significant
efforts to enable the parties to return to the negotiating table. The EU
is ready to support these negotiations.
The Arab League's peace
initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the
parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis
and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last
opportunity to create peace and security. Time is running out, and it is
not a day too early.
Despite continued occupation and a lack of
political progress, Palestinian state-building has advanced. The
international community shares the assessment of the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank that the Palestinian institutions live
up to the demands that can be made of a functioning state. Today there
is a basis -- albeit a fragile one -- for a Palestinian state.
A
new strategy will soon be drafted for Sweden’s development cooperation
with our Palestinian partners. Sweden will continue to take its
responsibility. We will continue our commitment to the whole of the
Palestinian territories -- the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and
Gaza.
We will focus on contributing to Palestinian
state-building efforts. At the same time, we will take the lead in
combating the negative development in "Area C" of the West Bank, where
the Palestinian institutions are not allowed to operate and where the
settlements are displacing the local population.
Sweden's
development assistance should make a difference where it is most
urgently needed. The Palestinians have become the most aid-dependent
people in the world. Development assistance to Palestine is associated
with very major risks and the challenges are considerable.
Development
assistance requires political progress to yield long-term sustainable
results. The occupation and the expanding Israeli settlements are the
main obstacles to a two-state solution and also explain the aid
dependency. Freedom of movement for people and goods within and out of
the Palestinian territories must improve dramatically if the economy is
to take off and unemployment is to be reduced. This applies in
particular to Gaza, where Israel must do a great deal more. Its
isolation is morally reprehensible and politically counterproductive and
makes development assistance more expensive.
As for the
Palestinians, they must deepen their reform policies, combat all forms
of violence and fully respect human rights. The political divisions must
end and democratic elections must be held.
Sweden is also an
important donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East, having contributed approximately
$56 million last year. UNRWA has been in existence since 1949 and
currently supports five million refugees in the region. We will continue
to help alleviate suffering by financing homes, medical care and
education. But in the long run this is unsustainable, including from a
donor perspective.
In Israel in particular, there are many people
who claim that now is not the time to make peace with the Palestinians.
When the region is in flames, there is a danger of short-sightedness
taking over. And in a cruel twist of fate, the Syrian conflict is
forcing Palestinian refugees to move again. They have become the
refugees of refugees in the Middle East.
Growing regional
instability means that the window of opportunity for a two-state
solution is closing. But history will condemn those who do not see the
opportunity to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict before it is too late.
Israel must realize that
occupation is an unsustainable policy in the long run -- for its own
sake and for international, regional and economic reasons. Cooperating
with the Palestinians is where the opportunities lie -- not in
threatening the country’s democracy and security.
The
Palestinians must come together in a shared vision of democracy and use
peaceful means to achieve recognition from and coexistence with their
neighboring country Israel. And this must be followed up with resolute
leadership for a united Palestine – for and with all Palestinians.
Frustration
must not be allowed to prevail. The Israeli and Palestinian leaders
must seize this opportunity for peace and security now.
