‘Failed’ Oslo Accords should be scrapped, says key Israeli architect of deal

The Oslo Accords should be scrapped because the past 30 years have proved they are a failure, a key architect of the historic peace deal has said.

Yossi Beilin suggested the twin pacts between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) had lost their true meaning and been “abused” by Israel.

Dutch diplomat and former peace negotiator Robert Serry said it was “remarkable” to hear one of the masterminds of the Oslo Accords speak about their legacy with such dismay.

Backing Mr Beilin’s call for the agreement to be torn up, he argued a new approach to peace between Israel and the Palestinians was needed for a positive outcome to be achieved.

The comments came during an online discussion hosted by London-based think tank Chatham House on Tuesday, the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords.

“Let us stop it,” Mr Beilin told the audience.

Yossi Beilin, a former member of the Israeli government and an architect of the Oslo Accords, called for the agreement to be scrapped. AP

“We never thought that it would be for 30 years and that we would mark the 30th year of Oslo. It’s not a success. It’s a failure because we cannot get to a permanent agreement.

“We are dragging it and dragging it. It’s being abused by those who don’t want a permanent agreement and prefer the zero-sum game.

“I think the best thing which [should] happen to Oslo is to kill it."

Mr Beilin has previously served in several positions in the Israeli government and was deputy foreign minister in 1993 when PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli prime minister at the time, Yitzhak Rabin, sign the deal. Their historic handshake on the White House lawn as then-US president Bill Clinton looked on was seen as a major breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian relations.

But three decades on, both sides remain locked in a conflict that seems never-ending.

Mr Beilin said people on all sides, including right-wing politicians in Israel, Hamas and many supporters of Fatah – formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement – consider the Oslo Accords “a mistake and a disaster”.

He said it would be better if Israel “got back to the status of occupier”, whereby it would be responsible to pay for the Palestinian budget and sort out education and other services in the occupied territories.

Mr Serry said the agreement had been “manipulated by successive right-wing governments” in Israel and suggested the signing had prompted Europe to become less engaged in the Middle East peace process.

“We [have] left it mainly since Oslo to the Americans,” he said. “The Europeans took a back seat.”

He stressed that a new paradigm was needed for a two-state solution to materialise.

“We cannot go on in the way that we are looking at the problem,” Mr Serry said.

Dalal Iriqat, a lecturer at the Arab American University in Palestine, told the audience the Oslo Accords had given the false impression that Israel and the Palestinians had been engaged in peace talks for the past 30 years.

She pointed out the last serious bilateral discussions held between the two sides, apart from over security co-ordination, was in 2012.

Only a solution to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories that gives her people a right to self-determination can be considered a goal, she said.

Dr Iriqat said Palestinian communities in the West Bank were being increasingly targeted by “extreme settler terrorism”.

The international community should make recognising the existence of a Palestinian state the first step on the road towards a two-state solution, she said.

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

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THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS

Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.

Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.

Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.

W.
Wael Kfoury
(Rotana)

Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg