Political, economic and cultural components of the emerging Mediterranean identity

If the treaties will signal the end of the conflict, peace is still a long way ahead arid will have to be built starting with the rehabilitation of the damages caused by the conflict and by the Peace Process itself to the regional sub system. [...] On the one hand the PLO, still officially the sole legitimate representative of the Palestine People would risk forfeiting this function if it is seen, by the majority of the Palestinians, to abandon the cause of the refugees in its pursuit' of other goals such as the creation of a state and the future of Jerusalem. [...] Such a state within a state existed in Jordan and caused the 1970 war between the Hashemite Kingdom and the PLO, which resulted in the expulsion of the Yasser Arafat, and the PLO to Lebanon. [...] There another Palestinian State within a State was created and resulted in clashes in 1973 which ultimately led to the breakdown of the state in Lebanon and the outbreak of a civil war where the existence of the Palestinians in Lebanon and support for their cause was one of the main issues the Lebanese fought over. [...] In the section devoted to the Middle East peace process, the "post peace era" is given stress equal to the conclusion of peace agreements, and the operational focus is on the multilateral track and the support of regional economic cooperation and integration.