 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 5 - 11 August 1999 Issue No. 441 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 5 - 11 August 1999 Issue No. 441
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Focus Interview Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters A crisis in the making?
It seems clear that the celebrated honeymoon between the Palestinian Authority and the newly-elected "pro-peace" Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is over.One could even say that things look bleak. The situation is in fact so bad that Palestinian Authority officials are appearing on TV to chastise the Barak government for playing games and procrastinating over the implementation of the Wye River Memorandum -- an agreement signed, under much US pressure, in a desperate effort to "keep the peace process alive" -- whatever the cost to the Palestinians.
While Barak is touring the world to talk about his true dedication to peace, the Palestinians are beginning to realise that they may not even get the scraps that Wye promised them.
The core of the crisis, however, is not just about the implementation of Wye. After all, the Hebron Protocols have never been implemented. This dispute is more about the increasingly obvious fact that Barak, the US and the EU seem determined to turn their attention to the Syrian-Lebanese track and ignore the Palestinians.
It is with this in mind that Yasser Arafat may find himself forced to compromise "yet again". He may yet have to accept a formula that combines the implementation of parts of Wye with the initiation of the final status talks. Going into negotiations under so much pressure will only mean one thing: even Arafat's well-known ability to compromise will be put to the test.
Egypt is trying hard to contain problems on all fronts. Indeed, Egypt is still giving Barak the benefit of the doubt. Despite his post-election declaration of the "red lines", and his tacit refusal to implement Israel's commitments, Barak is still well received in Egypt, and is still being encouraged to honour his commitments.
