Cover Story

David summit had never been held.
"We can feel the tension in the
air," said Bentzi Lieberman, mayor of
the regional council of Shomron in
the northern West Bank.
In the last few days, various
Palestinian organizations distributed
fliers in the Nablus region, urging
people to stock up on supplies to last
at least 10 months.
Settlers have stocked up for shorter
periods, assuming that no government
will tolerate a long Palestinian siege
on any settlement.
The Israel Defense Force has
declared that it is prepared for every
possible scenario.
The army chief of staff, Lt. Gen.
Shaul Mofaz, has already gone on
record with a warning that the
Palestinian Authority is readying itself
for a violent confrontation with Israel
if the Camp David talks fail. The
army has provided settlements with
rubber bullets and tear-gas grenades in
case they need to defend themselves.

Another Intifada?

According to military sources, the
worst-case scenario, if the Camp
David summit fails, would be a well-
organized popular uprising — a com-
bination of the 1987-1993 Intifada,
Arabic for uprising, coupled with the

an end to the conflict and long-term
stability in the Middle East is worthy
of substantial financial backing from
the United States government. If an
agreement is reached and endorsed by
the people of Israel, American Jews
should work hard to win congression-
al support.

DJN About a third of the world's Jews

don't live in America or Israel. What
role could or should they play in the
peace process?
RY The same minimal role that
American Jews play: they can express
their views to friends and supporters
in Israel, and then step aside while
Israelis determine their own destiny.

DJN What one or two actions could

the Palestinians take that would con-
vince you they really want to live in
peace with Israel?
RY Normalization of relations must
proceed on all levels, but most impor-
tant now is what they must not do. If
an agreement is not reached, a return
of the Intifada or a resumption of ter-
rorism would be a terrible blow to
future prospects for peace., ❑

Hezbollah-style guerrilla attacks used
against Israeli troops in Lebanon.
The IDF has cast a wary eye on the
Palestinian military capability in. the
Gaza Strip.
According to unconfirmed reports,
Palestinian police in Gaza have 44
Russian-made armored vehicles that
were smuggled across the Egyptian
border. Police there are also said to be
equipped with rockets and anti-heli-
copter missiles.
Israeli officials estimate that the
Palestinian police force has 80,000
rifles — double the number approved
in earlier peace agreements.
The officials are likewise concerned
about Palestinian sharpshooters, who
could cause heavy casualties even in
limited hostilities.
In past confrontations — like those
that erupted in September 1996,
when the opening of an archaeological
tunnel in Jerusalem's Old City sparked
three days of Palestinian rioting in
which 15 Israelis and 61 Palestinians
were killed — the IDF did not hesi-
tate to dispatch tanks toward the
major Palestinian population centers.
There are now reports that the
Palestinians have begun digging anti-
tank ditches. ❑

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Very Different
Summits

"This summit can't be logically
compared to the summit seven
years ago. There, we were dealing
with a series of provisional
arrangements — agreements to
make agreements, not a perma-
nent-status agreement. There, we
were dealing in the relations
between sovereign and existing
states, not the possible creation of
a new state.
"There, the chemistry between
the personalities was far different.
There, the backgrotmd of mis-
trust, hurt and hatred did not
exist,. There was curiosity, some
doubts and skepticism, but not
outright mistrust.
It is doubtful if this will be
possible but,
who knows —
the Lord works
in strange ways.

Alan Baker,
Israel Ministry
of Foreign A airs
jegal adviser

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