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On Dec. 3 an unusual set of speakers appeared together at the Dodds Auditorium of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on the topic "The Middle East at a Crossroads." Each of the three men had, during their careers, served in important government positions in the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

The first speaker, Prince Turki al-Faisal, was formerly director general of Saudi Arabia's foreign intelligence service and ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States, and is currently chair of the King Faisal Center for research and Islamic studies in Riyadh. The second, Itamar Rabinovich, was formerly the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Israel's chief negotiator with Syria, and president of Tel Aviv University, and is now professor at large at Cornell University. The final presenter was Amb. Daniel Kurtzer, former United States ambassador to Egypt and Israel, advisor to Sen. Barack Obama, and a visiting professor in Middle East policy studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

Mark Cohen, professor in Near Eastern Studies, set the context for the discussion, citing a potential end to United States presence in Iraq, new elections in Israel, Palestinian intellectuals beginning to doubt the possibility of a two-state solution, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia's support for a solution based on normalizing relations with and recognition of Israel, and a recent interfaith dialogue conference in Spain hosted by the Saudis.

The Saudi view

The first to speak was Faisal, who summarized the history of the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, from his perspective, and mentioned the relevant United Nations resolutions. He said, "It is universally agreed that the Palestinian people have been occupied and deprived of rights to their land." He added that Israel is "bit by bit appropriating the ancestral land of the Palestinian people."

Although earlier peace initiatives had significant accomplishments on the Egyptian and Jordanian side, Faisal cited Oslo as the first direct negotiation between the Palestinians and Israelis. The spirit of peace and cooperation during Oslo, he continued, resulted in significant accomplishments: "It meant an evolution in the thinking of both sides about each other and put before each a painful set of choices," he said.

Accusing Israel of using Oslo as a cover under which to appropriate more lands, especially around Jerusalem, Faisal felt that the Israeli strategy was to keep final status issues at arm's length while building more "facts on the ground." In his estimation, the delays in implementing the Oslo time table created new Palestinian realities that made achieving peace more difficult.

Faisal cited the proposals from Saudi Arabia by Fahd in 1981 and the newer Arab Peace Initiative in 1992 as a basis for a just peace. It offers full normalization of relations with Israel in return for a complete withdrawal from "occupied" lands, including portions of Jerusalem located in the eastern part of the ciy; a return to the lines of 1947; a recognition of an independent state of Palestine with part of Jerusalem as its capital; and a just solution for Palestinian refugees.

Faisal is hoping Sen. Barack Obama's incoming administration will quickly take a number of steps: demand that Israelis and Palestinians announce that they eschew violence; that Israel stop targeted killings and collective punishment, destruction of homes, indiscriminate imprisonment, confiscation of lands for "colonies," and construction of what he called "the apartheid wall," which is the security fence Israel has built to protect itself from suicide bombers; that the Palestinian security forces use all measures to stop suicide bombers and rockets and release Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Arabs in 2006; that the Israelis release thousands of Palestinian prisoners; and that both sides accept monitors to ensure these measures are instituted and impose sanctions if they are not.

An Israeli perspective

Rabinovich opened with an appreciation of Faisal's positive approach toward addressing issues and solving problems and putting the prestige of the kingdom into the effort, despite his own disagreements with much of what Faisal said. "There is much to be lauded in the Saudi plan, too," he said, adding that had it come in September 2000 - before the Arabs launched the second intifada, killing more than 1,000 Israelis - rather than in 2002, it could have had a real impact.

Whereas Faisal felt a historical understanding was critical to effective negotiations, Rabinovich disagreed, citing his own experience. "One thing that I learned as a negotiator with the Syrians was that there is no point in trying to confront narratives," he said. Instead, he suggested resolving issues, and only once there is agreement looking back at the past and trying to agree on what happened earlier. "To start out arguing narratives would get nowhere," he observed.

Rabinovich also called for looking at the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the context of related regional issues. For Israel, the single most important issue in the region begins with Iran and its ally, Syria. He noted that Syria provides a land bridge to Hezbollah and organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and any negotiations with Syria about the Golan Heights must take into account this role as well as Syria's possible interest in hegemony in Lebanon.

Rabinovich also emphasized Israel's vital interest in a two-state solution as Palestinian spokesmen have begun talking about the inevitability of a one-state solution. "It's a danger, and it is in our interest to separate from the Palestinians. Let them have a state and us have a predominantly Jewish state, with a strong Arab minority."

Given the primary tracks for negotiations, with the Palestinians and with Syria, the common wisdom, said Rabinovich, is to sequence them in the belief that no government has sufficient power to make concessions on both fronts. Although some of Obama's advisors have argued for movement on the Syrian front, Rabinovich emphasized that the Palestinian issue cannot be neglected. "They can be done together if we adopt what has been adopted nominally - the road map, the quartet, the Saudi initiative - and we begin with a series of confidence-building measures. And there is only one country and government that can orchestrate this, the United States."

This does not mean unilateral action, he continued. Others from the international community must be brought into the process. Two necessary elements will be financial aid early on and peace monitors at the end. Rabinovich hopes this can move forward after the new Israeli government is installed following the February elections, with the United States taking the lead and the Arab world, led by Saudi Arabia, coming forth with ideas and support. "It could take us beyond the process into a new beginning," he concluded.

An Obama advisor weighs in

Kurtzer raised additional problems that plague this region and need solutions in tandem with the specifics of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He cited a number of endemic regional problems that seem impervious to change: growing poverty in the Arab world despite the influx of petrodollars; growing gaps between rich and poor; fewer avenues of upward social mobility; frustration that builds, particularly in young people who find that education is not producing the quality of jobs and life they were expecting; unchecked population growth; education and social services strained beyond capacity; Arab countries where governments are not democratic and do not protect the rights and freedoms of their citizens; in Israel, "lawlessness" that is growing among some in the settlement movement; among young people, a growing susceptibility to the appeal of Islamic extremists whose goal is to gain recruits to a particular brand of religious extremism; and a region defined by violence, terror, and conflicts.

Kurtzer's advice is to better understand the particularities of the issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in their context and to think of ways to resolve them. He rejected imposed solutions and supported homegrown ones - "strategic developments, in the region, where Arabs and Israelis achieve ownership in practical terms." This will require both painstaking attention to detail and an approach where listening replaces preaching to one another, and Kurtzer cited the day's program as a good example.

Kurtzer is also hopeful about the power of leadership to effect transformational change, in the tradition of Sadat, Begin, and Mandela. "The Middle East is crying out today for such leaders and leadership both in the region and in Washington," he said.

Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have narrowed the gaps, and Olmert has talked to his own people about the shape of a final settlement, said Kurtzer, and the same needs to come from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Kurtzer added that it is time for Arabs to tell their leaders to activate that initiative and take practical steps that support progress in negotiations.

"It is time to stop catering to or being cowed by vocal minorities in the region, on both sides, striving for a zero-sum, winner-take-all outcome," said Kurtzer. And regarding the potential for peace, he concluded, "It's not easy, but possible and urgent. The foundation has been laid, and leadership is required."

This program was cosponsored by the Carolyn L. Drucker Memorial Fund, the department and program in Near Eastern Studies, the Transregional Institute, the Center for Jewish Life, the program in Judaic studies, and the Perelman Institute. For recommended readings on this subject, go to www.princeton.edu/nep/ and click on "The Middle East at a Crossroads."