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A Conference of Experts Tel Aviv, January 13, 2008
A Project of the Middle East Regional Peace Plan
H. L. Education for Peace
(Geneva Initiative, Israel)
I. Executive Summary The Middle East Regional Peace Plan is an ongoing project whose aim is to complete a detailed model for Israeli-Palestinian peace that address all outstanding issues between Israel and all its Arab neighbors which have not yet signed a peace agreement with Israel. Work on the project, which is being undertaken by H. L. Education for Peace, Ltd. (Geneva Initiative -Israel), together with the Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF), commenced in June 2007, has been made possible thanks to the vision as well as the generous support of Richard Goodwin, an American peace philanthropist from Snowmass, Colorado. As part of this project, H. L. Education for Peace and the ECF will convene a major Conference of Experts, which will examine the procedural challenge of reaching an agreement within 2008. Scheduled to take place on January 13,2008 in Tel Aviv , the Conference will consist of 30-40 invited experts. The conference will be open to the media, and will seek maximum exposure. The total estimated cost for this initiative is around $152,225. II. Conference Rationale Last month's Annapolis conference set an ambitious agenda for Israel and the PLO for concluding negotiations on a permanent-status agreement by January 2009. Although nowhere marked a deadline as such, January 2009 is understood by all sides to be just that for two main reasons, both of them involving the political lifelines of two of the three protagonists: the terms of both U.S. President George Bush and Palestinian President Mahmoud expire that month. (Abbas has already stated on numerous occasions that he will not seek a second term. ) With respect to the challenge of Annapolis, these political successions -even when carried out in the relatively smooth fashion of an established democratic system like that of the U .S. -will mean a radical rupture in the peace process. Whoever succeeds Bush will require months to staff and build up the teams of advisers that would guide him or her in so critical a foreign-policy issue as Middle East peace. And the question mark over the implications of Abbas's succession is greater still: the Palestinian body politic is itself in flux, and the identity as well as personality of the successor will be a crucial factor in the very ability of the Palestinian side to pursue a peace process at all. In the meantime, most analysts believe that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ability to survive politically hinges on the perception of progress in the peace process. Should that process be put on hold, too many elements -first and foremost within the coalition but also outside -might work to replace Olmert as prime minister whether directly or through new elections. The political urgency of reaching an agreement, therefore, is clear .But can Israel and the Palestinian achieve such a task in twelve short months? The challenges are many, and skepticism abounds. Roughly speaking, their skepticism centers on two different questions: 1. Does a solution acceptable to both sides exist? 2. Even if an acceptable solution did exist, isn't the process of negotiating and reaching an agreement far too complex -technically too difficult, procedurally too intricate -for the Israelis and Palestinians to complete it in 2008? In other words, is the whole thing doable in 12 short months? In order to answer the first question, the Middle East Regional Peace Plan is set to complete by the summer of2008 a detailed and comprehensive model for Israeli- Palestinian peace which will address all outstanding issues between Israel and all its Arab neighbors which have not yet signed a peace agreement with Israel. In order to answer the second question, however, a major Conference of Experts will be convened next month. Panelists at this Conference, which will convene under the aegis of the Middle East Regional Peace Plan, will be charged with the task of proving on the procedural level that reaching an agreement within a year's time is possible. III. Conference Description The Conference of Experts will convene past negotiators (Israeli, Palestinian, American, and European) as well as other experts who might bring political and professional experience and know-how. Based on their experiences (success as well as failures), these experts will be asked to discuss lessons concerning all procedural aspects, from how do you structure negotiating teams and negotiating sessions, to the role of third parties -first and foremost the U .S. (does it present bridging ideas? when? how does it follow the negotiations); the Quartet and its Special Envoy to the Middle East Peace Process; the EU and donor community; key Arab players (how do you get them to endorse Palestinian concessions? to reciprocate Israeli moves with steps toward normalization?) -to the role of secret back channels; the role of international gatherings ( do you reconvene Annapolis? with the same participation? how often? for what?); to the ways to prepare the two publics for the moment of truth; to the election calendar and other domestic considerations in the U.S. (when is a U.S. president most free to present controversial ideas?), Israel, Palestine, and more. Structure of the Conference: 30-40 invited experts plus an estimated audience of up to 100 (by invitation only). The conference will be open to the media, and will seek maximum exposure. Date and Place of the Conference: Sunday, Jan. 13, plus a dinner the night before, at a hotel in Tel Aviv (to be determined). Possible Sessions:
Preliminarv Sketch of Sessions and Panels -While we are still working on the conference program, below is an outline listing the major issues that will be discussed: Session I: Who Negotiates?
Session Il: The Role of the International Community:
Session III: The Publics
Additional Sessions / Panels
The total cost for the Conference of Experts is estimated at around $152,225. We hereby request an amount of $100,000 (out of the total $1 million) toward this specific conference, whose total budget is detailed below: The total cost for the Conference of Experts is estimated l;l.t around $152,225. We hereby request an amount of $100,000 (out of the total $1 million) toward this specific conference, whose total budget is detailed below:
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