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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Paved with good intentions
Arab countries can only express cautious optimism with respect to new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. After three years of deadlock in the peace process, there is deep mistrust that an election alone cannot mitigate.The new Israeli prime minister has in his cabinet the key figures who were involved in the early stages of negotiations with the Arabs. Therefore, Barak cannot claim that he needs time to study the various issues involved. There are also many key obligations that Israel should have carried out a long time ago according to the 1993 Oslo Accord, signed with the Palestinians.
The Wye River deal mediated by US President Bill Clinton last October was the most recent attempt to convince Israel to implement what it has already agreed upon and signed. Seeking to postpone the redeployment of Israeli forces as stipulated in Wye, and making this measure part of the final settlement talks, will shatter any hope that the peace process can be revived. Moreover, the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the opening of a safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza and the alleviation of restrictions on trade between Palestinian self-rule areas and Egypt and Jordan are all obligations agreed upon and renegotiated over a dozen times. Now it is time to act.
Barak's statements on Jewish settlements in the West Bank also add to Palestinian and Arab worries. It is not enough to stop building new settlements: it is also time to admit that the myth of "natural growth" is in fact a form of expansion, designed to allow these illegal outposts of the occupation to seize still more territory. Many so-called "political settlements" built by extremist groups to emphasise their religious claims over the West Bank must also be removed, especially since many of them are nearly empty.
Responding to these demands would at least suggest that Barak's intentions are good. The hard work will really begin in negotiations with Syria over Israel's withdrawal from the Golan Heights, and with the Palestinians in the final settlement talks. But Israel must first fulfil the agreements signed by previous governments. Otherwise, how can Barak expect the Arabs' trust and good faith?
