The 25 year experience of EcoPeace is that Israeli/Palestinian peace can only be achieved through dialogue, negotiation and compromise. Unilateral actions will not advance peace. Annexation of the Jordan Valley or other areas of the West Bank will never lead to peace. On the contrary unilateralism through annexation will lead to further instability and tragedy not only in Palestine and Israel but also in Jordan and the broader region.
The Alliance for Middle East Peace, of which EcoPeace is a founding member, responded succinctly to the ‘US Peace proposal” as follows:
“Peace will not be achieved by grand statements or unilateral steps. It can be within reach only when majorities of Palestinians and Israelis are in agreement on how they will share this land. But it is not just about lines on a map. Any peace plan worth its name must address how Israelis and Palestinians will both be guaranteed the rights, security, and self-determination they are equally entitled to. These are the conditions necessary for societies to live at peace with their neighbors and themselves.”
As a regional environmental peacebuilding organization, EcoPeace will therefore once again double its efforts to promote a just peace for Palestine, Israel and the broader Middle East within the broad outlines of the Arab peace initiative / Clinton parameters. We will continue to focus on protecting our shared common ecological resources and the underlying principles that environment knows no borders and that attempts to draw unilateral lines that divide, build more walls and disengage, are destined to fail.
Please support us in this effort.