Ever since Yitzhak Rabin was elected prime minister of Israel, all the inhabitants of the land, Israelis and Palestinians, have been busy discussing self government and the nature of autonomy in the Occupied Territories: Will autonomy be nothing more than the old occupation in a new outfit, or will the negotiations actually bring about a new situation, which will ultimately lead to Israeli withdrawal and to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. 
The most bothersome question is what will be the extent of autonomy agreed upon. Will it consist of autonomous control of “garbage and sewage” with all other issues remaining under the control of the Israeli occupation forces, or will it be true self-government run by the residents of the Occupied Territories, with the exception of pure security matters. 
The answer to this question will be found in a small paragraph in the autonomy agreement to be signed, it is hoped, in no more than six months. This paragraph I have chosen to call “the key article”, and its purpose is to determine who will hold the keys to the bridges over the Jordan River - the Palestinian autonomy authority or the Israeli authorities. 
If the keys remain in Israeli hands, it will mean that all the talk about self-government and the creation of a new reality is nothing but empty words, because such “autonomy” does not even acknowledge the Palestinian’s right to defend the residency of the local population. 
If, one the other hand, the keys are handed to the Palestinians, chances are good that one of the biggest injustices ever implemented against a nation under occupation will come to an end, and the residents of the Occupied Territories - and those denied residence status - will be given back the basic right to live with their families on their own soil in their homeland. In addition, they will be given back their right to leave whenever they wish, without the risk that their right to return whenever they want will be denied. Only then, could autonomy be seen as a cross-roads opening the new way to the realization of the Palestinian right of self-determination. 
Who will hold the keys to the Bridge - that is the question, and its answer will determine whether there was a real basis for the high expectations of many Israelis and Palestinians in the autonomy negotiations, or whether they were nothing but false hopes. 

Michael Warshawski