 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 September 1999 Issue No. 446 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 September 1999 Issue No. 446
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Books Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Marathon diplomacy carries the day
By Nevine KhalilPalestinians and Israelis finally signed a breakthrough memorandum, marking a fresh start for regional peacemaking after an eight-month stalemate. At a luxurious golf resort in Sharm Al-Sheikh Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright looked on as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak signed a document rescheduling the implementation of last October's Wye River accord. The three leaders later signed the memorandum as witnesses.
In a light-flooded, marbled conference room the five dignitaries gathered a few minutes after the Jewish Sabbath ended at midnight on Saturday. A sense of relief swept through the hall as the five leaders walked in, side by side. "Good morning, it's morning already," was Mubarak's greeting to the assembled officials, negotiators and waiting press.
The meaning was not lost on any of the exhausted players or observers who, for the past 48 hours, had remained uncertain that Washington's and Cairo's marathon diplomacy would actually pay off. Mubarak himself spoke of "moments of loss and despair" during negotiations which delayed the signing for two days. Reporters had been waiting for the ceremony for hours, the negotiators for days, the Palestinians and Israelis for months and the region for years.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu froze the original Wye accord, which he had signed in Washington in October, after redeploying troops from a mere two per cent of West Bank territory in December. The Likud government's procrastination led to an eight-month stalemate which was broken at the 45-minute Sharm Al-Sheikh ceremony.
The revised document, titled "Memorandum on Implementation, Timeline of Outstanding Commitments of Agreements Signed and Resumption of Permanent Status Negotiations", is referred to, in short, as Wye II. Most observers have faith that Barak will implement the amended memorandum, which basically meets all Israeli demands on troop redeployment in the West Bank and the release of a few hundred Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
The Palestinians believe that precise language added in the Sharm Al-Sheikh memorandum will eliminate any possible misinterpretation on troop withdrawals and the release of prisoners. Wye II gives exact figures and deadlines on some vital issues, including the release of prisoners; troop withdrawals which, in the end, will give the Palestinians control of over 40 per cent of the West Bank; the relaunching and conclusion of final status talks; the opening and construction of two safe passages between Gaza and the West Bank and the building of a Gaza seaport.
Barak and Arafat signing Wye II in Sharm Al-Sheikh in the early hours of Sunday; Abdullah, Mubarak and Albright put their signatures on the memorandum as witnesses at the 45-minute ceremony (photos: AFP)
By September 2000, both sides are expected to have reached agreement on more volatile issues on the agenda of permanent status talks, including the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Israeli settlements, the final borders of a Palestinian entity and water.
The signing ceremony was supposed to have taken place in Alexandria on Thursday. On that day, Albright met separately with Mubarak and Arafat, then travelled to Israel for talks with Barak and later visited Syria and Lebanon. In the meantime, negotiators were hammering out last-minute snags after which Albright returned to Egypt for the signing ceremony.
"No spikes allowed", read a sign at the entrance to the golfing hotel where the deal was signed. And indeed there were none to be found at the ceremony; only smiling faces and warm greetings going around. The mood was jovial as delegates mingled in the hall before the beginning of the ceremony. After the signing, Albright kissed both Barak and Arafat on the cheek, the two men locked in a double clasp handshake and Barak gave Mubarak the thumbs-up sign.
The Egyptian president noted that while Wye II took "long days and nights of serious negotiations" to conclude, more critical talks were still to come. "All the parties realise fully that the road is still long and the difficulties ahead are bound to be greater," Mubarak said. He pledged Cairo's engagement in the upcoming negotiations "whenever this is made possible by the parties".
Barak paid tribute to Arafat, describing him as "a leader determined to protect the rights of his people but, at the same time, committed to the constant search for peace."
Arafat returned the courtesy. "We extend our hands to my new partner in the peace process, the peace of the brave." He said that "in the coming days" Palestinians would see the release of prisoners, the transfer of territory to Palestinian rule and the opening of a safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank.
Barak also took the opportunity to appeal to Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad to put all past differences aside in the search for peace. "I intend to pursue peace on all tracks," he said. Barak donned a Jewish skullcap at the end of his speech as he recited a prayer for peace in Hebrew.
King Abdullah remembered his father, King Hussein, who died earlier this year. Hussein witnessed the signing ceremony of the original Wye agreement in Washington. "This agreement reminds us all of his spirit, his vision, his courage and his commitment to peace, and I hope and pray that we do not let him down," the young monarch said.
Downplaying US intervention in the negotiations, Albright said that the fact that the two sides negotiated Wye II directly "is a rich source of hope for the future. The accord provides a long-awaited boost both to the substance and spirit of the search for Middle East peace." She also urged Syria and Lebanon to agree on relaunching talks with Israel in order that "what has been a regional conflict can end in a regional peace." She noted that "a great task has been completed", and added that "an even larger one remains".
The US secretary of state, on a regional tour which had been delayed for several weeks, did not intend to mediate directly between any of the parties in the region. Albright's priority on the trip was to break the ice on the Syrian-Israeli track of negotiations which has been frozen since early 1996. But Albright's tour soon evolved into a full-blown shuttle diplomacy mission. The top US diplomat found herself pressed into playing a more active mediation role to clinch the Sharm Al-Sheikh deal.
Complementing the American role was Cairo's ongoing diplomatic effort. Mubarak spoke several times over the phone to US President Bill Clinton, met repeatedly with Arafat and sent his senior political aide, Osama El-Baz, for talks with the Palestinians and Israelis.
Egypt's role was "to reinforce the Palestinians, reassure them, help them make up their minds and draw upon our experience in the negotiations with Israel," El-Baz said. The career diplomat believes that by signing Wye II the Palestinians have "gained more than they lost because the transfer of any occupied land from Israeli control to Palestinian control is a sign of progress."
The marathon diplomatic moves finally culminated in the Sharm Al-Sheikh agreement and signalled a strong comeback for Egypt's role in regional peacemaking. Since Netanyahu's tenure began in June 1996, many governments in the region, not to mention the US, had distanced themselves from the process as a result of the Likud leader's hard-line policies.
Egypt, the first country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has been at the centre of the Middle East peace process, especially on the Palestinian-Israeli track. Cairo hosted the ceremony for the Hebron accord in May 1994, Taba witnessed the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian interim agreement in 1995 and Sharm Al-Sheikh hosted the peacemakers' summit of March 1996.
At the latest signing ceremony last weekend, Washington gave Cairo credit for its efforts. "Egypt has merited the world's admiration as an unwavering and courageous champion of peace," Albright told her audience. "This reputation has only been enhanced by Egypt's supporting role in the negotiations just completed."
In a reflection of the friendly atmosphere, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy occasionally leaned to his left to interpret the Hebrew part of Barak's speech to his Egyptian counterpart Amr Moussa. Palestinian Minister of International Cooperation Nabil Shaath embraced his co-negotiator Saeb Ereikat in front of the cameras to dispel rumours that tension had arisen between them.
