34

“I won’t dispute your facts,” Ziad countered. “But I entirely reject your analysis.”

“I’m listening,” said the general.

“In 1947, the total Arab population of Palestine was about 1.2 million,” the chairman began. “Today, there are 2.5 million Arabs living just in the West Bank alone. There are another 1.7 million in Gaza. There are yet another 1.6 million Arabs living in Israel. That means there are some 5.8 million Arabs living in Palestine. That, my friend, is a 483 percent increase in our numbers since 1947.”

“And?”

“And given that there are only about 6.5 million Jews in Israel today, we Arabs comprise no less than 47 percent of the total population living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Forty-seven percent. Given our birth rates, plus the number of Palestinians living outside the land who long to return to the homes of their parents and grandparents, the demographics are working in our favor —soon we will outnumber the Jews. They can try to ignore us —you can too —but we have rights, and mark my words, they will be honored.”

“How?” asked the general.

“What do you mean, how?” Ziad snapped.

“How will your rights be honored if you refuse year after year to come to the table to negotiate a comprehensive and final treaty?”

“You forget, sir, that every offer made to date has been better than the one before.”

“Meaning what?”

“At Camp David in ’78, Sadat and Carter abandoned us,” Ziad insisted. “At best we were offered limited autonomy, not our own state. But this was ridiculous, so of course we refused to dignify such a travesty.”

“What about in Oslo?”

“What about it? We were offered what we have now —the formation of the Palestinian Authority, on the road to a full state. And we said yes in good faith. It’s the Israelis who haven’t kept their end of the bargain.”

“What about Camp David in 2000?” the general asked. “Prime Minister Barak offered you all of Gaza, 90 percent of the West Bank, and a good portion of Jerusalem.”

“He wasn’t serious, and it wasn’t nearly enough,” Ziad insisted. “Besides, he was a weak leader, and his government fell soon thereafter.”

“In 2005, Prime Minister Sharon gave you all of Gaza. Why didn’t you engage in peace talks with him right then for the rest of your claims?”

“Sharon handed us Gaza on a silver platter, for nothing. We didn’t have to give him anything. So we took his offer, of course. We’re not idiots. But do you really think the man who orchestrated the massacres at Sabra and Shatillah was going to negotiate a final agreement in good faith? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Fine, then what about Olmert in 2008? He offered you 95 percent of the West Bank and half the Old City —the Muslim and the Christian Quarters. Your government didn’t even reply.”

“Why should we?” Ziad asked. “This is my point exactly. None of them offered us 100 percent of the land we possessed before the ’67 war. None of them were willing to surrender the Haram al-Sharif, home of our most precious jewels, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. And what about the right of return? Are the Israelis really so arrogant as to deny all of our refugees their God-given right to return to the homes that were illegally and immorally stolen from them in ’48? But this is my point. The Zionists still deny us what is rightfully ours. Yet the longer we wait, the more they offer. So we will continue to be patient, knowing that Allah —and time —are on our side.”

“Look, Ismail —if I may —please believe me when I tell you that I understand your anger. You don’t feel President Clarke is treating you fairly. I get that. And you don’t trust Prime Minister Eitan to negotiate in good faith with you. I’m sympathetic —I truly am —on both counts. After decades crisscrossing this region, I have come to understand and, I would say, appreciate your narrative, just as I have come to understand and appreciate the Israelis’ perspective. I readily acknowledge there is bad blood, and I’m not here to cast blame. It’s based on years of history between your peoples and between you two personally. I get that. I do. But you and I have known each other —and, I believe, respected each other —for a long, long time, since we first met at Camp David back in 2000 during the Clinton Peace Initiative. So I truly hope you will believe me when I tell you that Olmert’s offer in 2008 was the high-water mark. You and your people will never again receive an offer that generous from the Israelis. But President Clarke’s plan is a good one. It’s fair. It’s balanced. And it’s achievable. But only if you don’t reject it out of hand. Now, may I walk you through the particulars?”

When the watch officer was gone, the Saudi prince picked up the phone and speed-dialed the private, secure number of the king’s chief of staff.

It took nine rings before the man picked up. When he finally did, the prince explained both the content of the message and its source. The chief of staff began asking questions.

When had the message come in? Were they absolutely certain the translation from Farsi to Arabic was precise? Was there any doubt as to who’d sent it? Could it really be true, or had the Pigeon been compromised? Why did the prince regard it as real? And what did he propose they do next?

The prince had anticipated each question and answered with directness and precision. The chief of staff then told the kingdom’s top spy he could brief His Majesty the king and His Royal Highness the crown prince at precisely 3 p.m. “And call AG,” he finally instructed before hanging up.

The prince paused a moment, took a deep breath, and then dialed a second number. Like the first, this call was also encrypted and completely secure. Unlike the first, however, this one was routed by the GID’s computers through multiple satellites, then through a maze of fiber-optic lines from Patagonia, to Mexico City, to Marseilles, through the island of Cyprus, and eventually to the private mobile phone of the director of the Israeli Mossad, Asher Gilad.

“Asher, it’s Abdullah. Do you have a moment? We have a problem.”