I gently pressured my colleague, Abd Al-Naser Al-Najjar, to continue the third part of his field investigation into the realities and problems of the Jordan Valley, and the ways to solve them. His excuse is that he's busy as an editor in chief, a weekly columnist with additional editing duties during the summer time, and, soon, the director of the Media Center at Birzeit University.
But I have my reasons, not only as a reader and a citizen but also as a journalist, because every good editor and heavyweight writer needs, from time to time, to go out into the field and write a solid investigative piece to set an example to his fellow reporters.
In reality, the Palestinian-Israeli relationship is almost entirely defined by crossings, checkpoints and walls; they cast a shadow over any future political relationship. And so, a four-party international regional project (involving Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Japan) may add a new practical reality to the ones imposed by the crossings, checkpoints and walls, that is a "Peace Path" project, which plans to establish a joint industrial-agricultural zone to export Palestinian agricultural goods, both fresh and processed, through a special airport in the Jordanian part of the Jordan Valley, to the Gulf states and Japan, as well as to Palestine, Israel, and Jordan.
This project, sponsored by Japan and to be launched at the beginning of the new year, will parallel joint Palestinian-international projects to create industrial zones on Palestinian lands that are close to the crossings between the West Bank and Israel.
The Palestinian Authority has benefited from the geographical locations of the industrial zones, which have mostly been built on lands that are not entirely under Palestinian control (now considered Area A), with the goal of spreading its authority and influence to zones that must be recognized as Palestinian lands in any political agreement (Areas B and C).
Theoretically, and in the regional and international conferences, Israel accepts that a Palestinian state must border the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. But it undermines this in practice since most of the Jordan Valley is closed to Palestinian political, security, economic, and constructional activity, and Israel is monopolizing the water resources of the Jordan Valley.
Some of the international projects to develop the Jordan Valley appear to be very ambitious, like mining the Dead Sea for minerals, a planned canal between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, and the plans to use water from Turkish rivers diverted though Syria to rejuvenate the Jordan River and Dead Sea.
The "Peace Path" project in the Jordan Valley appears to be realistic and practicable, and may be a test for more ambitious projects if the economic dividends are matched by political dividends, in other words by also developing peace negotiations and agreements.
Japan has sponsored a project to develop the Allenby Bridge, and the roads leading to it. Jordan and Israel benefited form the project, while the Palestinians didn't benefit at all, even though the project widened the only bridge connecting them to Jordan. Crossing the bridge remains endless and exhausting, especially during the summer, both when it was under symbolic Palestinian control of the bridge, and after Israel took complete control over the bridge.
Some Palestinians fear the internationalization of the Jordan Valley, especially since crossings, checkpoints and walls were initiated during the start of the Oslo peace process, and reached a peak after the Camp David summit. They fear for the project of creating a Palestinian state, specifically since the original plan for the separation wall meant the building of an eastern wall to isolate the Jordan Valley from the rest of the West Bank, and because Israel is active in separating the network of roads used by the settlers from the network of roads used by Palestinians.
The Peace Path project includes restoring the Al-Muajrat Road and the northern entrance to Jericho, which is a dangerous and narrow mountainous path. The Al-Nar Valley road, which is the only road connecting Ramallah to Bethlehem and the northern part of the West Bank to its southern part, is also undergoing repairs. And until the issue of Jerusalem is resolved, Palestinians are obliged to endure and develop within their current situation, and that includes the shared industrial zones and the "Peace Path" project.
Palestinian economic, development and security realities do not mean that Palestinians are sentenced to develop a political reality that oppresses people's rights and disregards the Palestinian national interests of sovereignty, water resources, and geography.
If Palestinians accept the challenge of creating a democracy while under occupation, they are also obliged to meet the challenge of building the essentials for growth while under occupation.
That will ensure that if political peace emerges, there will also be in place the essential elements of a viable, independent state, able to stand on its own.
[Translation by Mike Husseini of ATFP]
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