It is only two months since the death of Yasser Arafat, yet already the new political lexicon created by his demise has descended into meaningless cliche. I refer here to the oft-quoted "window of opportunity" (WofO) which, we are led to believe has been opened by Abu Ammar's passing. This term has quickly become the hopelessly innacurate short-hand of the politically illiterate, already rivalling "coalition of the willing" and "ethical foreign policy" for toe-curling cringe-worthiness.
To speak of a WofO in the afternmath of Arafat's death is necessarily to subscribe to the view that the veteran Palestinian leader was "an obstacle to peace", to use another cliche which positively wheezes with exhaustion. This argument is, to my mind, grossly innacurate.
The real obstacle to peace is not the former Palestinian leadser, or the current Palestinian leader, or the next Palestinian leader. It is the Israeli government, which says it wants peace while continuing the settlement drive which makes such a goal less and less possible. For Sharon and his supporters, peace does not mean a just resolution of this tragic conflict, but rather the victory of one people over another.
"Peace" Likud style is not about ending the occupation of the West Bank but rather about re-configuring it. Israel will leave the Palestinian population centres while maintaining control of large areas of the West Bank for, of course, "security" reasons. Israel will also retain control of the borders, the airspace and the water resources. The majority of settlements will remain. A few hill-tops may be evacuated, but the 30 000 residents of Ma'ale Adumim aint going anywhere.
In return for their Bantustan state, the Palestinians will be expected to make peace with Israel. For the Palestinians such a deal would be nothing short of surrender. There would be no need to hold the "pecae" talks in Jerusalem, the French have a palace just outside Paris which is ideal for diktats of this sort. No Palestinian leader, no not even that nice Mr. Abbas, could sell such a "deal" to his people.
To talk now of a WofO for peace in the Middle East is to distort the reality of the conflict. There will be no peace this year, or I fear any time soon, because the Israeli right, which is currently in the acsendant, does not want to pay the price.
To me, this seems fairly obvious, but still I hear that cursed phrase trotted out time and again. Some who speak of a WofO are neo-cons or fellow travellers, those who refuse membership of the reality-based community. I was not surprised to hear Tony Blair blabbing on about windows recently. But it was with despair that I read an editorial in the normally sensible Guardian which used those four damned words without the antisceptic of inverted comas.
It seems that Israel's narrative has seeped into nominally pro-Palestinian quarters. Because even to speak of a WofO at this time is to support the view that the victims must prove themselves worthy of peace with the oppressors. All this talk of Abu Mazen's duty to "crack down" on the armed groups ignores the fact that Palestinian violence, however disgusting, is a symptom of the conflict and not a cause.
Until the election of an Israeli government which is committed to ending the cause of this conflict - the occupation - there is no WofO.