ABSTRACT
One problem in any settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the low credibility of signed undertakings. Various schemes have been proffered to make agreements as self-enforcing as possible, but any settlement still assumes a minimal amount of good faith and trust that simply do not exist. Guarantees are, obviously, not a substitute for a satisfactory peace agreement, but rather a means of bolstering such an agreement by adding assurance that its terms will be respected. It is clear that outside guarantees cannot bridge the gap between irreconcible positions. This chapter examines the types of guarantees that have been operative in the recent past and an determines the factors that have governed their effectiveness. It talks about the proposals for guarantees as part of a settlement of the Egypt-Israel conflict. A ‘neutral’ guaranteeing force charged only with the maintenance of specified elements of a local settlement, would theoretically be free of the dangers of great power forces.
