There were chuckles all around, and eventually Ross managed to extract a happy ending from his dEjA vu. The agreement finally got Israeli troops out of most of Hebron, the last occupied city on the West Bank, leaving only a garrison to protect about 400 zealous Jewish settlers who insist on living near Abraham’s tomb. The Hebron deal also set up a schedule for phased Israeli withdrawal from a large part of the West Bank countryside by the middle of next year. It pointed the parties toward negotiations on the even more difficult issues that remain to be resolved: the future of Jewish settlements, the Palestinians’ demands for a state and, toughest of all, the ultimate status of Jerusalem. Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat again promised to clamp down on terrorism and to finally amend his national charter to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.
But the real significance of the deal was that it committed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud bloc to a land-for-peace process they rejected until now. And it moved the Americans into a new role. No longer just facilitators of the peace process, they were now mediators, with Ross personally drafting language for the agreement. “It’s not a role we want to play for the long term,” Ross told NEWSWEEK. “The more the two sides can do things on their own, the better.”
That’s the problem: at the moment, there’s not much they are willing to do without a strong nudge from the Americans. Extremists on both sides berate the leaders for the relatively mild concessions made so far. Netanyahu took most of the heat last week. His cabinet endorsed the agreement by a margin of only 11 to 7, and one of its more conspicuous members, Benjamin Begin, son of the late prime minister Menachem Begin, resigned, complaining about “the bitter taste of capitulation.”
Ross, 48, has been involved in Middle East issues since the Reagan administration, and with a final settlement still a long way off, he has agreed to stay on under Madeleine Albright, the new secretary of state. They crossed swords during the 1988 presidential campaign. Albright was an adviser to Democrat Michael Dukakis, while Ross, who got into politics campaigning for Robert Kennedy and George McGovern, was by then working for George Bush. Albright and Ross debated foreign policy on four broadcasts during the campaign. Looking back, he says, “our dealings were exceedingly good, very comfortable.” Ross remained on the Mideast beat when Bill Clinton took office. His survival from one administration to the next reflects both his passionate commitment to the peace process and his diplomatic skills. “He has the two things a Middle East negotiator needs –infinite patience and an extraordinary knowledge of the issues,” says former colleague Geoffrey Kemp.
Like any good negotiator, Ross has been criticized by both sides. Some Palestinians call him pro-Israeli, complaining that in the Hebron deal he gave Israel extra time to withdraw from the rest of the West Bank. Supporters of Israel charge that Ross is too close to the Arabs, especially the Syrians. Ross is Jewish, but he insists that a negotiator’s religion no longer matters in the Middle East. Last year, when his daughter, Rachel, had her bat mitzvah at a synagogue in Maryland, the guests included the ambassadors from Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Ross is tenaciously hopeful. “The essence of my optimism,” he says, “is that I honestly believe there is no alternative to peace, and the parties recognize that.” The Hebron agreement finally rewarded his optimism. The daunting differences that remain will test what he has left.
