The Roadmap Ripped Up: Lessons from Gaza in the Second Intifada

The article examines the lessons that need to be learnt from Gaza in the second uprising against Israel. The Roadmap was formally presented on April 30, 2003 at a ceremony in Ramallah. Some five weeks later, on 4 June, a meeting held at the Jordan Red Sea resort of Aqaba brought the then Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas, together with President George W. Bush. Arafat was then still the president of the Palestinian Authority, but the Israelis would no longer negotiate with him, so he was not invited. A reporter covering conflict quickly acquires the ability to sense at a distance when something dangerous lies ahead. That sense, however, is not always reliable. It is unsettling when it suddenly becomes active. Whereas in rural areas of a peaceful country the sight of empty roads and open spaces brings a sense of calm, in a conflict zone the absence of people and traffic has the opposite effect.