A New Diplomatic Initiative

It has become clear that Israel and the Palestinian Authority are not going to find a way out of their conflict alone. In an attempt to reanimate the peace process, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has put together new proposals for a solution to the Middle East crisis.

According to a report in the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, Fischer is suggesting setting up a type of independent group to intervene. It would decide on the territorial division of the region, similar to the strategy used to establish peace in the Balkans.

The group would also ensure the safety of Israel. It would be made up of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Fischer will reportedly push for a full separation of both parties. He is proposing that Israel pull out of the occupied territories and give up its settlements in the West Bank. At the same time, a provisional democratic state Palestina would be proclaimed.

He will elaborate his ideas further at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg next week.

Fully behind the US

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder called Fischer’s ideas "very balanced, very interesting".

He said Germany was attaching great hopes to the latest US peace mission headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Fischer's proposals would be closely coordinated with the US, he added.

"It is honorable to apportion a special role to Germany," Schröder said. "But if there is anyone who can really ensure what we all hope for, to get the peace process back on track in the Middle East, then's it's America."

He mirrored Fischer’s idea that a solution would have to involve the US, the UN, the EU and Russia. "Only political pressure from all four, led by the United States, can lead to a glimmer of hope."

To see Germany as having a role on its own would be to exaggerate its political capabilities, Schröder added.

A return to normality

Fischer’s proposals provide that all final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority would be completed within two years. His goal is to establish the "full normalization" of relations between Israel and the Arab states.

The suggestions combine various elements of past Middle East peace plans, such as the Mitchell Plan, the Tenet Plan or the recent proposal by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah.