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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 February 2000 Issue No. 467 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 February 2000 Issue No. 467
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters All the right reasons
Syria's demand for full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights to the border of 4 June 1967 cannot be considered a precondition for the success of currently stalled peace talks, as Prime Minister Ehud Barak stated in his visit this week to Cairo. This is the central goal of these negotiations. The same applies, of course, to the Palestinian track.
In return for withdrawal from territories it occupied in 1967, for the first time in its 51-year-old history Israel will enjoy peace with all its Arab neighbours. Thus, the purpose of talks, whether on the Syrian-Lebanese or the Palestinian track, is to discuss the necessary arrangements following Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories in a way that will assure Israel's position as one of the countries of the region without the threat of war and constant confrontation with its neighbours.
In Egypt's case, Israel agreed first on the principle of full withdrawal from Sinai. Later, other arrangements were discussed, such as the various phases of withdrawal, the normalisation of ties and other fields in which the two countries could cooperate in order to assure a permanent peace between former foes.
Barak's refusal, and his attempts to delay recognition of this principle, indicate that he is acting like his predecessor, mouthing pretty statements about his desire to establish peace while failing to take any actual steps toward this goal.
The same applies to Israel's policy in Lebanon. The Israeli government holds Syria responsible for the ongoing acts of heroism carried out by Hizbullah resistance fighters in the south. Yet Barak fails to see that the reason for the attacks is Israel's occupation of south Lebanon. Were Israel simply to withdraw its troops from the occupied south, it would no longer need to look for scapegoats. A country that claims to be a regional superpower does not need to occupy another state to "defend" its northern border.
This week's events in south Lebanon, resulting in the death of three Israeli soldiers and a key commander in the local militia created by Israel, are merely indications of what the situation could be if Barak does not take the necessary decisions on withdrawal. Threatening to stall talks with Syria is not the way to avoid similar incidents in the future. Then again, perhaps Barak has not learned his lesson yet.
