Peace in the Mideast will come in time, says a negotiator who gathered with the faithful in an Annapolis church on the eve of the Mideast Conference.
“I think the conference will be a metaphor for peace because all the primary leaders from around the world are coming together to talk. The door is open and it?s up to us to get our foot in it,” said Barbara Tower, 72, of Annapolis, who joined about 250 individuals at St. Anne?s Church Monday to discuss conflict resolutions for Israel and Palestine.
“We wanted people to feel part of the peace conference and have the chance to express themselves,” said August Deimel, spokesman for Saint Anne?s Parish of the Annapolis church.
The Annapolis Friends Quaker hosted the public forum led by Nidal Foqaha and Mossi Raz, two Middle Eastern peace negotiators who helped reach an agreement between Israel and Palestine in 2003. The agreement is known as the Geneva Accord.
People lined up to ask their questions regarding U.S. involvement in the conflict, opposition to the Geneva Accord and the obstacles to resolutions.
“It?s very encouraging to be present when two peace keepers, who have given their lives to the cause, come to our country,” Tower said. “I think we?re all victims in this conflict. It?s a source of conflict in the world.”
Foqaha said he would like the Annapolis conference to produce a concrete timetable for negotiations that would ultimately establish a Palestinian state. But he is concerned the conference will be a lot of talk and no action.
“Even if nothing happens, [the conference] is a symbolic commitment to negotiation,” said Nicholas Berry, 70, of Annapolis, who is the director of a foreign policy critical analysis Web site.
“Even if it fails, it?s another try.”
The evening ended with prayer and song for peace on earth.
“Peace between Israel and all the Arab nations really is possible,” Raz told the listeners. “We are going to solve the conflict. It?s only a matter of time.”
