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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A fruitless yield
The 13 February deadline for reaching a framework agreement between Palestine and Israel on final status is-ues passed unnoticed by all the parties involved in what can no longer be described as a peace process. At this point, nothing prevails but a vicious stalemate and deep feelings of frustration among the peoples of the region.
One deadline after the other has been missed as Israel arrogantly asserts that "there are no sacred dates". The US is "understanding" of the Israeli position, and rewards its closest ally in the region by working on a joint defence pact that will further strengthen Israel's already ridiculously overblown military capabilities.
This is surely the first time in history that parties to peace negotiations have not been obliged to respect the deadlines they set themselves. If they are not to respect the dates they determined and the commitments they made during negotiations, why negotiate in the first place?
In the case of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and particularly on the Palestinian track, Israel makes use of every day that is lost in endless negotiations to build still more settlements on occupied Palestinian land. The only goal of this policy is to create facts on the ground and make it utterly impossible for Palestinians to have an independent state.
The Arabs are repeatedly pressured to show their good will towards Israel by opening up their economies to their former enemy, regardless of whether or not they get anything in return. The Arabs are not negotiating to ask Israel for forgiveness or to offer an apology. They are doing so to liberate occupied land, and to put an end to the suffering of Palestinians who have been living under a racist colonial regime for over 50 years.
Hard-line former Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir vowed at the opening of the Madrid Middle East peace conference in 1991 that he was willing to carry on negotiating for 10 years without giving the Arabs anything tangible. Shamir's prophecy has become reality. The Arab leaders now must think of a different strategy, one that will force Israel to respect its obligations. Clearly, the concessions of the past decade have come to no avail.
