The good ole days before the peace process...

Khaled Abu Toameh pines for the good ole days...

Many Jews and Arabs living in this part of the world really miss the good old days before the Middle East peace process began -- before Yasser Arafat and the PLO were brought to the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the signing of the Oslo Accords.

It is time to cry out loudly that this peace process has been nothing but a disaster for both peoples.

Has anyone ever noticed that more Jews and Arabs have died since the signing of the Oslo Accords than during the period between 1967 and 1993?

This peace process, correctly dubbed by some as a “war process,” has failed; it is time to try something else.

Real peace between Palestinians and Jews cannot be achieved, at least not in the foreseeable future. The gap between the two sides remains as wide as ever and the two sides do not trust one another at all.

Instead of talking about conflict resolution, we should go for conflict management , with good-will gestures from both parties.

Israel, for instance, could ease security restrictions, stop settlement expansion in the West Bank and help improve the living conditions of Palestinians.

The Palestinians, for their part, could stop all forms of violence and incitement against Israel and focus on building proper government institutions and a strong infrastructure for the future Palestinian state.

Conflict management means keeping the conflict on a low flame with the hope that this would have a moderating effect on both Jews and Palestinians.

In the good old days before the peace process began in the Middle East, anyone living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip could wake up in the morning, get into his or her car and drive to any place inside Israel.

Suicide and car bombings were unheard of.

Not a single rocket or missile was fired from the West Bank or Gaza Strip into Israel.

About 200,000 Palestinians used to work in Israel on a daily basis.

There was no security fence and no wall in the West Bank.

There were no armed militias like Fatah’s Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Battalions roaming the streets of Palestinian communities.

Palestinian villagers had free access to their lands and farms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Palestinian merchants from the West Bank and Gaza Strip used to converge on Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities almost every day to do business. They used to converge on Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities almost every day to do business. Thousands of Palestinian families would be seen enjoying their time at Israeli beaches, public parks and restaurants.

There were no permanent Israeli military checkpoints between the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the one hand and Israel on the second. Checkpoints were set up only when security deemed it necessary.

There was one government and one police force in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Palestinians knew who they were dealing with and had a clear address. Palestinians did not have to worry about a dozen or so security forces/militias that were created by the PLO after the signing of the Oslo Accords.

Thousands of Israeli Jews would flock Palestinian cities and villages, especially on weekends, to buy relatively cheap vegetables and fruit and enjoy locally-made kebab and hummus. Israeli Jews used to repair their cars in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They used to visit their dentists in Qalqilya, Bethlehem and Jenin.

Palestinians did not need a special permit to enter Israel.