		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 17 - 23 December 1998 Issue No.408
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Easily recognisable

No matter what Binyamin Netanyahu and his right-wing backers do, no matter what American officials say, Clinton's visit this week to liberated Palestinian territories constitutes an acknowledgement of the Palestinians' right to statehood. Some may even see it as de facto recognition of a Palestinian state. Before Clinton's arrival, Netanyahu and Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon expressed concern about the political impact of the visit to Gaza and the West Bank. They warned against raising "false expectations" among the Palestinians through gestures such as Clinton's landing at Gaza airport aboard Air Force One. They feared this would boost Palestinian aspirations to sovereignty. The Americans compromised: Clinton travelled by helicopter. As if this made any difference to the import of the visit. Clinton's presence was certainly more important than the aircraft he was travelling in. This point, however, was just one of the difficulties the Israelis raised. Before Clinton's arrival, they set various conditions for implementing the second phase of troop withdrawal. One major condition was that Arafat drop his plan to declare a Palestinian state next May, at the end of the transition period stipulated in the 1993 Oslo peace package. Furthermore, the reception the Israelis gave Clinton left much to be desired from a country that owes its military, economic and political existence to the United States. Particularly offensive was a stream of photo-montage posters showing Clinton wearing a kufiyyeh, with captions in Hebrew saying "I am Palestinian" and "Clinton, go home." US officials, including Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, have taken pains to stress publicly that Clinton's visit to Gaza does not presage US recognition of Palestinian sovereignty. Still, judging by two recent votes in the UN General Assembly on the Middle East crisis and Palestinian rights, a clear majority would recognise a Palestinian state once it is declared. Clinton's visit to Gaza can only encourage such a trend.