The Human Factor: Israeli PM Ehud Barak, left, President Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat at a Camp David summit

THE HUMAN FACTOR
Directed by: Dror Moreh
Certificate: 12a
☆☆☆☆☆

BILL Clinton stood at the lectern and said: “Today marks a shining moment of hope in the Middle East and indeed the entire world. It opens the door to a comprehensive and lasting settlement.”

Such words, spoken when the Israeli government and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords in 1995, seem hopelessly hollow today.

The intricacies of diplomacy and the never-ending quest to find a peaceful solution in the Middle East are laid bare in this excellent documentary by director Dror Moreh.

Moreh, who previously trained his camera on Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence service, in his 2012 documentary The Gatekeepers, begins the story during the George Bush Senior presidency.

It is the early 1990s, and the USA is the world’s only super power. Trying to solve the Israel/Palestine crisis was an attractive idea.

By using insightful talking heads with the diplomats and emissaries from the US government who worked on trying to find common ground, we are given a ringside view.

It is fascinating to watch how small gestures and minutiae were keys to larger deals. We are shown how even such a gesture as the shaking of hands at the White House between Yitzak Rabin and Yasser Arafat had to be carefully managed.

The Americans asked Rabin if he would shake Arafat’s hand, and was told he would on three conditions: no gun, no uniform, and no kissing.

They went back to Arafat’s team, and were asked: “Can I have the holster, without the gun?”

“No, that’s not going to work either.”

They then had to work out a way of subtly avoiding a kiss on either cheek – and developed a system where a handshake would be done with the other hand placed firmly, and friendly, on Arafat’s bicep so he could not move in close enough to plant a kiss.

To avoid Arafat showing up in a provocative uniform, they sent a tailor to his hotel to make him a new suit: but when his aides saw him dressing, they laughed – so he put his uniform back on.

When this news broke, US aides had to tell the Israelis it was actually a safari suit and the medals were badges.

Such moments are telling – but these asides are quickly consumed by the horror of the murder of Yitzak Rabin, and the following outbreak of war and terror.

Moreh has created an informative and thoughtful history that understands the conflict, drama and dilemmas. It offers no solutions, but a sober understanding why this conflict continues to feel horrifyingly insoluble.