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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Supplement Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Red lines dampen hope
Reacting to Ehud Barak's triumph in the Israeli elections, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said: "I am not talking with a big, or obvious, sense of optimism. I am only talking with a sense of hope."
Noting that time had been wasted while Binyamin Netanyahu was in power, with no progress in regional peace-making, Moussa asserted: "We expect that the new prime minister will embark on actions and policies that would revive the peace process, wake it up. This should be done on all tracks -- Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese."
Moussa also said that Egypt will follow developments very closely. "We are ready to help Mr Barak, to cooperate with him, as long as peace is his goal and the peace process his policy."
Nevertheless, diplomatic sources in Cairo could not offer a good reason why Barak would show a commitment to peace-saving. "The fact that, in his first post-election statement, he chose to speak about red lines is indicative," a diplomatic source said. "The fact that Barak will not want to be projected as another Yitzhak Rabin, who may be slain for showing flexibility, is bound to make him more stubborn. After all, the hard decisions are traditionally taken by Likud, and not Labour, governments because Labour is usually very self-conscious about its secular character in a country that is based on a religious identity."
Another source told Al-Ahram Weekly that "the difference between Netanyahu and Barak is akin to the difference between a vulture and a hawk. Both are birds of prey; the only difference perhaps relates to the length of their wing spans."
According to the same diplomatic sources, many Arab quarters are apprehensive that the United States, and possibly the European Union as well, may put pressure on Arab countries to encourage Barak's "peace tendencies", by offering him an advance price for peace. "We are aware that sooner or later, Washington will be talking to us and others about the need to resume economic regional cooperation in order to strengthen Barak's position with the Israeli hard-line opposition," a source said.
According to Moussa, "the first step that can push the peace process forward is for Mr Barak to implement the Wye River Agreement, resume contacts and negotiations on the Syrian track [and work for an Israeli] withdrawal from southern Lebanon."
But Egyptian officials believe that Barak will not be quick in implementing the Wye Memorandum. Others argue that this will be the maximum he is ready to do on the Palestinian track.
"We have already lost three years," Moussa said. "We should not be going into protracted negotiations. We need to do very many things in very few months."
Asked what would happen if Barak procrastinated, a senior official responded: "Simple. Barak will be given the same treatment that was accorded to his predecessor."
In Gaza, Palestinian Authority officials, who were relieved by Netanyahu's downfall, had their optimism tempered by Barak's talk of "red lines". Freih Abu Maddin, the PA minister of justice, described Barak's "set of no's" as "dangerous", "coming too soon", and "auguring very badly for the future".
"One would understand such statements during the election campaign, but repeating them now is dangerous and unacceptable," Abu Maddin said. He argued that Barak's position was a "non-starter" for the resumption of the peace process, adding that no Palestinian could ever come to terms with such conditions, "which are a carbon copy of Netanyahu's policies and positions".
Other PA officials welcomed the "political revolution" in Israel. Yasser Abd Rabbou, the PA minister of culture and information, opined that Netanyahu's defeat was a defeat for "all morbid rightist ideas" and "clear proof that the Israeli people are opting for peace."
For its part, the Islamist opposition viewed Barak's declarations as a vindication of their long-held view that Barak and Netanyahu are two sides of the same coin. "It is true that Barak, when compared to Netanyahu, may look like the lesser of two evils, but it would be naive and dangerous to give him the benefit of the doubt. All Zionists are hostile to Palestinian rights," said Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
In Amman, a strong feeling of optimism and relief prevailed. King Abdullah, who was at talks in Washington with President Bill Clinton, expressed hope that the peace process would be revived and that the entire region would be ushered into a new era.
"We hope that Barak will push the peace process in the right direction," said Jordanian Information Minister Nasser Lawzi.
In Damascus, however, an official of the ruling Baath Party said "there is no difference between Barak and Netanyahu. Both belong to the same Zionist school of thinking that seeks to annex Arab land."
Barak's "red line" declarations raised great suspicions about the possibility of making progress in the peace process, the source said. His failure to speak about the Golan Heights, and his promise to withdraw from southern Lebanon within a year, "indicate that he is using the same methods as Netanyahu, who acted to separate the Lebanese and Syrian tracks of negotiations".
In Beirut, Prime Minister Selim Al-Hoss said: "Most of the Israeli wars against the Arabs, including the 1996 Qana massacre, were waged by Labour Party leaders. There is no difference between Barak and Netanyahu. The proof is Barak's post-election speech, in which he ruled out withdrawal to the pre-June 1967 borders."
Dina Ezzat in Cairo; Khaled Amayreh in Gaza; Lola Keilani in Amman; Atef Saqr in Damascus; Zeina Khodr in Beirut
also see Region
