The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

The failure of Camp David and the Second Intifada
Barak returned from the Camp David summit declaring that he had done
everything for peace, bringing a generous offer, but that the Palestinians
had rejected the plan.
The time was ripe for the next violent phase between the two sides.
The violence was triggered by Ariel Sharon’s provocative visit to the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As terrorism, suicide bombing and Israeli
retaliation were going on, two attempts to bring the sides to the table
failed. One was President Clinton’s proposal (the “Clinton Parameters”);
the other was the Taba Talks of January 2001.
The terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001 and the accession
to power of Ariel Sharon, with the image of a “strong man” who
would provide security, were used cleverly by the Israeli government
and the army to push the view that Israel was on the front line of global
Islamic terror, and Arafat was the local Bin Laden.
The next spring, a suicide attack on the eve of the Passover holiday killed
twenty-seven Israelis at the Park Hotel in Netanya, giving the signal for
the “defensive shield” operation, intending to root out terrorism. The
army re-occupied major West Bank, captured or killed numerous militia
fighters, and confiscated papers and documents in an attempt to show
the direct involvement of President Arafat in planning the terrorist attacks.
Buildings, roads, offices and other civilian facilities were destroyed
as well.
The peace camp in Israel now faced a serious crisis. Many believed
Ehud Barak’s claim on his return from Camp David that his generous offers
had been rejected by the Palestinians. The harsh suicide attacks in
the city centres created zero tolerance towards peace. Peace became
unpopular.
The general atmosphere on the streets, in buses, cafés, banks, etc., was
one of fear and panic. People were afraid to gather in public. No queues
were seen, as these situations would have been potentially dangerous.
The epidemic of fear was shared not only by the “person in the street”.
179