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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
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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 Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters In solidarity
The first team of Egyptian technicians and electricity experts departed for Lebanon yesterday to help restart three power stations bombed by Israel. A second team will follow next week to help rebuild Al-Jomhouriya, Deir Nbouh and Baalbak stations which have been partially or completely destroyed over the past weeks by Israeli raids. The cost of damage is estimated at LE87 million.The decision to send the teams was announced during President Hosni Mubarak's surprise visit to Lebanon last Saturday. Last weekend, as Foreign Minister Amr Moussa was preparing to go to Beirut, Mubarak decided to make the trip himself. Damascus was informed that the president would be arriving in Beirut where he engaged in four-hours of talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, focusing on the current condition of the peace process.
The landmark visit was a clear show of solidarity with the Lebanese people who, since 8 February, have been subject to Israeli air raids targeting the country's infrastructure and injuring 20 civilians. It came as a morale boost to a dispirited nation that, since the launch of the peace process in Madrid, has been bracketed together with Syria in the peace process.
For Tel Aviv the visit signalled a hardening of Egypt's stand towards Israel, underlining the fact that Cairo acknowledges Lebanon's right to armed struggle to liberate its land, while to the US it emphasised that armed confrontation will remain an ever-present threat should the peace process not move forward.
Regionally, it expressed a reinforced determination that Egypt must continue to play an effective role in the peace process while internationally it served to draw attention to the sufferings of the Lebanese people and their need for aid to rebuild what Israel has destroyed.
Mubarak condemned Israel's "irrational violence" against Lebanon and pledged that Egypt will help Lebanon repair the damaged power plants. "How can one punish an unarmed people with no pretext other than the death of two soldiers on the border?" he asked.
Mubarak's visit came after a week of massive protests in support of Hizbullah's armed resistance to Israeli occupation, and rising anger at US bias towards Israel. Lebanese officials were quick to express their gratitude, with Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss insisting that the visit was a clear sign of solidarity with Lebanon, and a culmination of Egypt's support of the Lebanese people.
In their joint communiqué Mubarak and Lahoud emphasised the need to support simultaneity on the Lebanese and Syrian tracks, and warned Israel against ignoring established rules of engagement in South Lebanon. They condemned Israel's "aggression" against civilian targets, and upheld the "right" of Lebanese guerrillas to continue attacks on Israel's occupying troops.
Hoss expressed the hope that the visit would help relaunch the Monitoring Group that oversees the implementation of the 1996 April Understanding, which prohibits the targeting of civilians. Sources revealed that Saturday's talks addressed the possibility of a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the south, proposed by Barak for next June. The sources also said Egyptian officials probed Beirut's reaction to the deployment of peacekeeping forces in the event of any Israeli withdrawal.
Mubarak's visit elicited censure from Israel with Foreign Minister David Levy criticising the Egyptian president for backing Hizbullah amid what he termed a "wave of hatred" across Arab states towards Israel.
"We are saddened by the support for Hizbullah expressed by Egypt, which we regard nevertheless with the greatest respect," Levy said. "Those who support Hizbullah are in fact supporting an organisation whose aim is to destroy peace."
Whatever reservations were felt in Tel Aviv, Israel was quick to despatch envoys to Cairo to justify Israeli policy in Lebanon. Barak's security advisor Danny Yatom and Levy's chief of staff Alon Pinkas met with Moussa for three hours on Sunday in an attempt to contain Egypt's anger. Yatom -- a former director of Mossad -- also asserted Barak's "determination to exhaust every opportunity towards advancing all the tracks with the objective of strengthening Israel's security by reaching agreements," according to a statement from the premier's office
Moussa described the meeting as "important as the talks covered all tracks and the various issues raised, aiming to bring an end to this [Israeli] attitude, whether it is against Lebanon or another [country]."
Damascus echoed Lebanese praise for the visit, while Hizbullah announced that it underlined the importance of Arab unity in opposing the "bullying tactics" of the US and Israel.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, US State Department spokesman James Rubin indirectly criticised Egypt's support of Hizbullah. "We don't think it is wise to be supportive of the enemies of peace. Hizbullah are trying to kill the peace process and we don't think that they should be supported." As he lashed out at Hizbullah, Rubin also noted Washington's "concern" over Israel responding against civilian targets.
Whatever Washington's concerns are, Barak now stands forewarned that he risks undermining Israeli relations with several Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia and Morocco if it continues with its procrastination and aggression. Tel Aviv risks, too, a complete breakdown on the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese tracks and the freezing of the recently relaunched multi-lateral talks.
Nevine Khalil in Cairo,
Ranwa Yehia in Beirut,
Thomas Gourgissian in Washington
