After months of haggling, breakdowns in talks, terrorism, repression and suspicion, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization this week signed an agreement to turn over Gaza and Jericho to a form of autonomous PLO control. The transfer is to begin within three weeks.
Celebrations over the pact are somewhat subdued, partly because Middle East negotiators have learned that things are almost always more difficult than they seem. Anything might happen in the three weeks before the Israelis start to withdraw.In fact, the transfer of the two areas was agreed upon last September, but working out the details proved to be so complex that Israel and the PLO were unable to sign a deal by a Dec. 13 deadline and the original withdrawal of Israeli forces on April 13 had to be postponed.
However, the formal pact appears to have surmounted all obstacles to the limited exchange, despite efforts of extremists on both sides to undercut the deal with acts of terrorism. The first step on the road to Palestinian autonomy appears to have been successfully taken.
The agreement itself mirrors the complexity and the fears surrounding such a step. More than 250 pages long, replete with maps and stuffed with logistical details, the agreement is an example of convoluted Middle East politics. The next test is to see how it works.
Under the pact, the PLO is defined as the representative of the Palestinian people, despite the existence of other Palestinian groups that have more radical aims, such as immediate autonomy and even the destruction of the state of Israel.
The PLO agrees to live in peace with Israel with "mutual respect and security." Decades of struggle and a vast change in outlook lie behind those simple words.
The Israelis are to withdraw from all bases and military camps in the two areas but continue to provide border security and retain the right to return if PLO forces are unable to keep the peace or protect Jewish settlers who remain in the region.
The pact also provides for numerous committees and administrative bodies and it gives one such body, the Palestinian National Authority, the right to enact laws as well as administer them.
It would be too much to expect that this first step will be free of problems or isolated incidents of violence. But both sides have already recognized that their interests require that such events be ignored as much as possible for the sake of larger goals.
If this first experiment in Gaza-Jericho autonomy fails, the moderates will have lost and there will be little or no prospect of further progress toward an independent Palestinian state - a fact the radicals and terrorists understand and will try to exploit.
As difficult as the negotiations have been, the reality is that the PLO must demonstrate that it can govern, meet the expectations of the Palestinian people and deal with its violent internal foes.
The PLO is going to need help - from Israel, from the outside world, from other Arab states if it is to lift the dismal standard of living in the occupied territories and to give the Palestinians a viable reason to believe in a peaceful future.
Replacing fear and violence with peace and trust won't be simple. But it must be done. If this first step is successful, the two sides already have agreed that after a five-year transition period, the way will be open for creation of a full-fledged, independent Palestinian state.
Therein lies the hope for real peace between Israel and its neighbors. It truly is a chance of a lifetime.