Artículo de Shimon Peres en "Ha´aretz" del 6-11-2002

When the nation has people hungry for bread, the social issue must be at the top of our agenda. But it is impossible to correct the social situation without correcting the economy itself. As long as investments in Israel are not renewed and tourists don't come back, as long as the flow of capital out of Israel isn't stopped and budgets are disbursed according to parochial demands, the economy will not recover. And as long as the security situation is unstable, the basic conditions for social and economic deterioration will not change.

Five conditions are necessary to correct this situation:

- There must be Palestinian cooperation in the war on terror. The Palestinians will not agree to become collaborators and if we want their cooperation we have to present them with a clear political horizon. That horizon is the vision in President Bush's speech, accompanied by the Quartet's plan: A permanent solution based on two states that live side by side. In my meetings with Palestinians a few days ago, I made it clear that there is no chance Israel will accept the Palestinian plan, just as there is no chance of the Palestinians accepting the Israeli plan. The only way for both peoples is to accept the international compromise supported now by almost all the world and by a majority of people in both nations. Without international support, the Palestinians will not be able to establish a state and Israel will find it difficult to attain peace. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he accepts the Bush vision, but he is not ready to bring that position to the government for approval. Stammering does not make policy.

- An agreement with the Palestinians must - and can - be drawn up in such a way that things are done simultaneously: a war on terror; negotiations for a permanent solution; Palestinian governmental reforms. If we condition one element on the other, everything will remain stuck, just as it has been stuck for two years.

- New settlement construction must be frozen and we must announce that we are ready to include removal of settlements in any permanent agreement, as proposed by President Clinton at Camp David. The settlements have taken a heavy toll on Israeli society. They have gobbled up budgets and made it difficult to draw a map of peace or security for Israel.

- Sharon claims he agreed to the principles laid out in the Abu Ala-Peres understandings. But he rejects the timetable as too short. In my opinion, there's no time to waste. The levels of tension and terror in the region are so high that the quicker we progress toward a permanent agreement the more all sides will benefit.

- Within three or four years there will be a new Middle East or a nuclear Middle East, swarming with various range missiles and terrorists in every corner. There will be either a Middle East rife with fear, hostility and poverty or a Middle East that will rid itself of the combination of modern weaponry and backward economies. It could be a Middle East that will have to cooperate in infrastructure, economic management and in industry and services based on new technologies, as has happened in Europe, as is happening in China, India, Latin America and elsewhere. Israel must be among the leaders of that new Middle East and overcome the cynics and skeptics.

The right wing tried - and we tried to help it - to achieve peace, security and economic growth. The effort failed because of stammering, hesitation, procrastination and lost horizons. The mandate has gone back to the people and the people must decide to escape social poverty and political failure.