The Middle East: the Way Forward

Two key mediators in the Middle East conflict today implored the international community to re-engage with the peace process and identified common ground which to build a new accord.

Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli justice minister in Ehud Barak's Labour government, joined his friend Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian minister of culture and information, in a Guardian debate entitled Israel/Palestine: the way forward.

Addressing an audience in central London, Mr Beilin said: "We see two suffering people, each side think they are the worst one. The Israelis cannot understand, there was an intifada, there was terrorism. The Palestinian side cannot understand the tanks."

But he insisted: "We are not trying to score points and are not in the business of bickering and trying to prove one side is right and one side is wrong."

Mr Rabbo, among those tipped as a future Palestinian leader, said the Palestinians were facing up to concessions they may have to make to secure a peace deal, and websites were updated daily with articles to this effect, but added: "We are doing this under siege."

He said: "The Palestinian people can not move except with special permission . . . this is in fact leading the situation into more detoriaton without any serious international intervention."

Mr Rabbo said it was valuable that the US and European consensus about the peace process now appeared to be that there could be "no security solution without a political solution". However, he said "we did not witness, since the end of the first [Israeli] reoccupation wave at the end of April . . . any real move by the international community".

Mr Beilin said: "The worst thing is if you give up on us, if you say 'we don't understand it, it is impossible to make peace'."

On the issue of claims on holy sites in Jerusalem, Mr Rabbo said that the Palestinians and the Israeli's could look after their own. But Mr Beilin said this was too simplistic and an international body would be required to administer the custodianship of the sites.

Both men said that the two sides were closer to a deal in 2000, when former US president Bill Clinton was leading peace talks in the last days of his time in office, than was now fully appreciated.

Mr Beilin, a prime architect of 1993 Oslo peace accord, said that there was a will to put painful choices to the Israeli people but regretted that there was "almost a sense of relief" when this did not happen. He stressed though that the Israelis were "sick" of the conflict and longed for a breakthrough.

He derided the Israeli prime minister and Likud leader, Ariel Sharon, calling him "General Sharon" the man who carved out the Israeli settlements and wanted to keep them. But he added that it was necessary to be pragmatic about dealing with Mr Sharon and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. "Don't give up on them, because they are there whether you like it or not."

Mr Rabbo criticised a trend for what he called "festivals" in place of proper peace conferences with workable structures.

However, both speakers agreed that Israeli occupation had to end. In his closing remarks, Mr Rabbo said: "We do not fight Israel, we fight the occupation." Mr Beilin described the headaches of checkpoints and administration and admitted Israel should have thought of pulling back its settlers.

In his closing remarks, Mr Beilin said that some voices in Israel wanted to increase further the military offensives against the Palestinians but he added: "We will not agree. We want to save ourselves and our kids."

Introducing the debate, the editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, said its role was to keep the dialogue going about Middle East solutions and paid tribute to the two speakers. He said: "Both in their own ways have played an extraordinary role in the last ten years in keeping that dialogue and some sense of movement alive today."

The two men are working together on a detailed peace plan.