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11. Lessons for Palestine from Northern Ireland Why George Mitchell Couldn’t Turn Jerusalem into Belfast Ali Abunimah I formed the conviction that there is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. Conflicts are created, conducted, and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by human beings. I saw it happen in northern Ireland, although, admittedly, it took a very long time. I believe deeply that with committed, persevering, and patient diplomacy, it can happen in the Middle east. —George Mitchell, Obama administration Middle East envoy, 22 January 2009 during Israel’s december 2008/january 2009 invasion of the Gaza strip, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians,1 veteran Irish journalist Patrick Cockburn reported that Israeli society reminded him “more than ever of the unionists in northern Ireland in the late 1960s.” Like Israelis, he wrote, unionists were a community “with a highly developed siege mentality which led them always to see themselves as victims even when they were killing other people. There were no regrets or even knowledge of what they inflicted on others and therefore any retaliation by the other side appeared as unprovoked aggression inspired by unreasoning hate.”2 today, more than a decade after the 1998 Belfast agreement, the northern Ireland political settlement appears to be holding up, although it continues to face tests and its long-term viability is by no means assured. Irish nationalists share power with pro-British unionists in what is in effect a 222 ali abunimah binational state. Political violence has virtually ended. When two British soldiers and a police officer were allegedly killed by Irish nationalists known as “dissident republicans” in March 2009, in the first of such attacks in more than twelve years, the deaths were met with unprecedented displays of unity and appeals for calm by former enemies.3 People in northern Ireland are far from coming to terms with the consequences of their long civil war, and the agreement did not definitively settle the status of northern Ireland, but a generation of children, now teenagers, has no memory of the pervasive violence that traumatized their society for decades. That alone is no small achievement. President Barack Obama’s appointment of former senator George Mitchell as his Middle east envoy within days of taking office brought renewed speculation that despite unprecedented levels of violence and an entrenched political stalemate, american intervention could bring about a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Mitchell’s own optimism was borne out of his experience as chair of the excruciatingly difficult negotiations that led to the Belfast agreement.4 Mitchell was not the only participant in the current Middle east peace process to draw direct parallels with his experience in northern Ireland. Former British prime minister tony Blair was appointed in july 2007 as the envoy of the Quartet, the ad hoc, self-appointed group of american, european , russian, and Un officials that monopolizes the Middle east peace process agenda. as prime minister, Blair devoted intensive personal efforts to northern Ireland, often comparing the Belfast negotiations to the Middle east. “The unionists were the Israelis and the republicans [Irish nationalists who want a united Ireland] were the Palestinians,” Blair has said, and the British “were the americans trying to bring the two sides together and get them to trust each other, while also having cards in our hands.”5 This essay argues that principles and strategies adapted from those applied in Ireland would produce a better outcome for Palestine/Israel than the failed approach taken by every american administration—including through its first year the Obama administration—as well as the “international community” since the Middle east peace process began with the 1991 Madrid Conference and the 1993 Oslo accords. Of course, every situation is unique, but there are nevertheless significant historic and structural parallels—many long-recognized by scholars and members of both communities—that make Ireland and Palestine suitable for comparison. 23.125.219] Project MUSE (2024-04-25 05:51 GMT) Lessons for Palestine from Northern Ireland 223 Both conflicts have at times been described as “intractable,” not least because of the intensity of the enmity that appeared to motivate the antagonists . The discussion proceeds with brief histories of both conflicts and then examines the outcomes, processes, and limitations of the northern Ireland settlement and highlights lessons for Palestine/Israel. U.S. and International Intervention Much of the optimism generated by Mitchell’s appointment reflected a consensus...

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