NEW YORK- Former State Department official Martin Indyk is calling on the United States to “monitor and report” on implementation of the Road Map plan so as to ensure that Israel and the Palestinian Arabs comply—but the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) points out that for the past ten years, the State Department has already been “monitoring” compliance with the Oslo accords, and its reports have regularly ignored or downplayed Palestinian Arab violations.

Writing on the op-ed page of the New York Times (Aug.21, 2003), Indyk asserted that in order to facilitate peace, the U.S. should “act as guarantor, developing a detailed monitoring and reporting plan to ensure that each side carries out its commitments fully and promptly.”

Since the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993, the State Department has assumed the task of monitoring compliance, and has provided biannual reports to the president. As ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State during 1995-2001, Martin Indyk played an important role in the monitoring and reporting process. The reports consistently minimized or ignored Palestinian Arab violations. U.S. Representative Ben Gilman, then chairman of the House International Relations Committee, referred to the State Department’s reports on Palestinian Arab compliance as “whitewashes.”

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein commented:
“During the Oslo years, the State Department and Martin Indyk were so intent on demonstrating ‘progress’ in the ‘peace process’ that they deliberately ignored the Palestinian Arabs’ constant violations. Indyk and his colleagues made a mockery of monitoring—and now he calls for more monitoring?

“What is needed is a new policy by the Bush administration—first, the task of monitoring should be taken away from the State Department and given to a more objective party, such as Congress; second, the administration should stop turning a blind eye to Palestinian Arab violations. The Road Map was issued four months ago, yet the Palestinian Authority has still not fulfilled its requirements, such as dismantling terrorist groups, confiscating terrorists” weapons, and halting all anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incitement. The U.S. should publicly condemn these violations, and make future U.S. aid to the Palestinian Arabs conditional on full compliance.”