"Ibrahim, it wasn't your fault at all. It wasn't the fault of the Palestinian people. But look, it's simply not true that Arafat and his regime simply wanted a state and peace to raise their children. That's what you want. That's what most Palestinians want. But that's not what Yasser Arafat wanted or he would have taken Barak's deal."
"Mr. Prime Minister," Bennett now asked Doron, "didn't your predecessor, Ariel Sharon, agree to a two-state solution? Didn't he say the occupation couldn't continue?"
"He did."
"And what about you?"
Doron took a deep breath. He hadn't expected being put on the spot so soon. A Palestinian state terrified Doron. Not for ideological or religious reasons. Doron's concerns were entirely security related.
A state meant sovereignty. The right to establish an army, air force, and navy. The right to build airports. The right to buy weapons and make treaties and conduct military exercises and so forth. Sa'id seemed like a reasonable person. But who would succeed him? What if the next Palestinian prime minister — or the next after him — cut a deal with Syria? Or the Saudis? Or Tehran? What then? What recourse would Doron's successor have if he gave away so much so soon? Still, Doron knew the negotiations could very well be over before they really started if he couldn't give Sa'id a private assurance that a three-year transition would eventually have a payoff to something more substantial.
"With caveats about secure borders and assuming the terrorists were eliminated and other Arab states were willing to end the embargo against Israel— with all those caveats built in — yes, my government is not opposed to a two-state solution."
There. He'd said it. Now the question was, did Sa'id believe it?
"Director Harris, it's for you."
FBI Director Scott Harris was huddled with Homeland Security Secretary Lee James, Secret Service Director Bud Norris, National Security Advisor Marsha Kirkpatrick, and their senior staffs in the White House Situation Room. The president and First Lady were still asleep in the Residence. Those gathered for this meeting had been up most of the night, overseeing the most extensive antiterror campaign in U.S. history, grabbing only an occasional catnap in their offices.
But this call was urgent.
"It's Harris, what've you got? You're sure. All right. Thanks."
He hung up the phone and turned to the others.
"Autopsy report just came in."
"And?" asked Kirkpatrick
"It's not Ruth Bennett."
"They're sure?"
"Dental records."
"Which means…"
"You got it," sighed Harris. "She's still out there somewhere."
The principals reassembled after a fifteen-minute break.
McCoy handed each man a five-page, single-spaced, typed, and stapled document. It was marked "Confidential" and "Eyes Only." But it had been vetted before the trip by the vice president and his policy and political team, each member of the NSC — particularly the CIA, Defense, and the State Department Policy Planning Staff — as well as by three former Secretaries of State.
Bennett suggested he simply give each man an overview and save the substantive discussions for Monday after they'd all had some time to think it over and discuss it with their advisors. Both men agreed.
A U.S. PROPOSAL FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY
The United States offers "A Proposal for Peace and Prosperity" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
We do so in the spirit of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed on November 22, 1967. This calls for the "withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict."
Resolution 242 also calls for the "termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
Bennett began by stating for the record that Resolution 242 (and its corollary, Resolution 338) had served as the basis of all previous Arab-Israeli negotiations and should continue to do so. He reaffirmed that the president would commence discussions with other countries in the region to enter peace talks with Israel, and that Morocco and Pakistan were already showing a surprising degree of interest. Then he dropped the bomb. He noted that the resolution called for an Israeli withdrawal "from territories occupied in the recent conflict," not "from all territories occupied." The distinction was important — land for peace, but not necessarily all the land for peace.
"My government accepts that there will be controversy on this point," said Bennett. "And I don't want to bog down on this point right now. It's something for the final status negotiations, not this Transition Period. We simply want to acknowledge up front that we're aware of this controversy and sympathetic to both sides' points of view."
Sa'id wasn't happy that Bennett had brought it up at all, but for now he let it pass. Grateful the land mine he'd just stepped on hadn't yet gone off, Bennett continued.
To this end, the U.S. proposes:
Phase I — a three-year Transition Period
Phase II — final status negotiations
Phase III — signing/implementation of a final Peace Treaty
Bennett now began outlining the proposed guidelines for the Transition Period.
A. Coordinating Body
A Coordinating Body, headed by the United States — in consultation with those Arab States who recognize the State of Israel, and NATO — will be responsible for assisting the Palestinian prime minister and the Palestinian Legislative Council in the planning and formation of a brand-new, democratic government structure. The new government will be known as the Palestinian Administrative Authority (PAA), to distinguish it from its predecessor.
Every measure possible will be taken by the PAA and the United States government to prevent anyone with ties to terrorism from participating in the new Palestinian government.
U.S. military and security forces, at the discretion of the president of the United States, will not leave the territories in question until the PAA is deemed by the president of the United States as ready, willing, and able to operate effectively and prevent terror attacks against Israel or elsewhere.
Neither said a word. Again, Bennett continued.
B. Administrative Authority
A Palestinian Administrative Authority will be established in the areas under Palestinian control. The PAA will be responsible for administering the day-to-day lives of the Palestinians in matters such as the economy, police and law enforcement, education, housing, religion, culture, communications, and other sectors.
The employees of the PAA will be Palestinians who have not been involved, directly or indirectly, in any terror activities.
The PAA will operate for a Transition Period of at least three years. During this Period, Ibrahim Sa'id will remain the prime minister, and the current members of the Palestinian Legislative Council will remain in place.
During this Period, the required democratic structures and conditions will be created so as to enable the sides to enter into permanent settlement negotiations at the end of the Period.
At the end of the Period, free and open elections will be held in these areas. The elections will be administered and overseen by the Coordinating Body, in order to ensure that they are being held in accordance with accepted democratic standards. Only after such elections will final status negotiations be concluded.
For now, neither Sa'id nor Doron registered an objection or asked a question.