S. HRG. 108-723 THE ROAD MAP: DETOURS AND DISENGAGEMENTS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 20, 2004 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AR.00005 Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate 97-377 PDF U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Biden, Hon. Joseph R., Jr., U.S. Senator from Delaware, opening statement Dodd, Hon. Christopher J., U.S. Senator from Connecticut, prepared state- Lugar, Hon. Richard G., U.S. Senator from Indiana, opening statement Miller, Mr. Aaron David, president, Seeds of Peace, Washington, DC Satterfield, Hon. David M., Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 34 THE ROAD MAP: DETOURS AND DISENGAGEMENTS TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2004 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met at 9:33 a.m., in room SD-419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard G. Lugar (chairman of the committee), presiding. Present: Senators Lugar, Hagel, Chafee, Brownback, Biden, Dodd, Boxer, and Bill Nelson. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD G. LUGAR, CHAIRMAN The CHAIRMAN. This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is called to order. The committee meets today to examine the new dynamics in the Middle East and their impact on the Israeli-Palestinian peace proc ess. Last February, our committee held a hearing on the Road Map that challenged the notion that progress toward peace could not be achieved before the United States election in November. Advancement of the peaceful two-state solution envisioned in the Road Map is urgently needed by the Israelis and the Palestinians and is critical to our own success in the global war on terrorism. Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations use the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to enlist fresh recruits to conduct terrorism across the globe. It offers enormous complications. We should continue to pursue without delay every opportunity to resolve this longstanding conflict. The violent Palestinian uprising against the Israelis since September 2000 has cost both sides dearly. Nearly 1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians have died in the cycle of violence during the past 3 years. The economies of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been decimated. In Israel, exports have fallen from $2.7 billion in 2000 to $1.3 billion in 2003. The Palestinians' gross domestic product dropped 40 percent during the period, and unemployment rates have soared from 15 percent to between 20 and 30 percent in the West Bank and Gaza. Recent developments in the region, however, have created the possibility for movement in the peace process. Israel's plan for unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and some West Bank settlements has changed calculations about what is possible. Egypt has taken a more active role in coordinating the disengagement plan with the Palestinians. Other nations, such as Jordan and Turkey, also have offered to facilitate the process. Today we want to examine in detail how the United States and the international community can take (1) |