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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Focus Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Picking up the pieces
By Nevine Khalil
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah left Cairo yesterday after talks with President Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian officials on the situation in the Middle East peace process. Abdullah left Cairo for Damascus and is expected in Beirut today. Consultations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are part of the continuing efforts by Cairo to jump-start the peace process which has frozen on all negotiating tracks.
President Mubarak during talks with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah on Tuesday
Earlier in the week, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin were in Cairo on separate visits to brainstorm on the faltering negotiations. Mubarak's chief political adviser Osama El-Baz was in Israel on Tuesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and other officials while contacts continue with the Syrians and Lebanese.
Palestinian-Israeli talks froze at the beginning of February when Israel rejected demands on the shape of the handover of more West Bank land. The two sides failed to meet a 13 February deadline for the framework agreement on final status talks. Negotiations with Syria were suspended in January after Israel refused to give Damascus a written pledge that it would withdraw from the Golan Heights. Lebanon is awaiting progress on the Syrian track although Tel Aviv proposed a unilateral withdrawal from southern Lebanon by next June.
El-Baz said his 24-hour trip was part of Cairo's efforts to "give a boost to the peace process and prevent it from being interrupted or trampled under foot." During his meeting with El-Baz, Barak emphasised that Israel "is determined to seize the opportunities on both [the Palestinian and Syrian] tracks simultaneously," according to a statement released by Barak's office.
Arafat and Beilin met separately with Mubarak on Sunday to attempt to revive the peace process. Arafat told reporters the Palestinian side was trying to forge ahead and overcome the current crisis. The Palestinian leader later met with US special envoy Dennis Ross in Gaza to listen to what the Israelis had to say about resolving the differences. Ross arrived in the region last week to resolve differences between the Palestinians and Israelis, but failed to convince the two sides to resume negotiations.
In his meeting with Mubarak, Arafat detailed the recent developments and "the general negative climate" especially on the Palestinian track, according to Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. "The most serious obstacles are the deadlines which come and go without achieving any progress or change," Moussa said. He said Abdullah's visit came at a "critical time when the whole peace process is in danger and off balance." The top diplomat also said that consultations with Beilin were an attempt to probe what Tel Aviv has in mind for achieving peace in the region. "It's very important and essential to know," Moussa emphasised.
Beilin told reporters that Mubarak shared his optimism about the prospects of peace in the next few months despite the problems. After two hours of talks, Beilin told reporters that Mubarak was "optimistic and understands well the difficulties and obstacles" involved in the negotiations. Moussa, however, said, "Many dark clouds hang above us all because of the difficulties. It is not so easy to be optimistic."
Beilin was more upbeat. "There is a conviction to reach peace even in the absence of Arafat and Barak," but agreed that "the current atmosphere needs to change." Beilin downplayed Foreign Minister David Levy's threats against Lebanon, saying that "what is more important is action, not words... [Levy] is committed to peace." Beilin claimed that Israel wants to make peace on all remaining tracks within this year, noting that Egypt can play a role "to bring the points of view of both sides closer and assure each party of the other's intentions."
In an interview published Monday in the German weekly Der Spiegel, Mubarak described the current situation as "dangerous" and warned Tel Aviv not to "pressure Arafat anymore" because without him leading the Palestinians, "the peace process will regress."
President Mubarak met with Israeli Justice Minister Beilin earlier this week
"Israel must realise that it must deal with Arafat in a positive way instead of weakening him by continued procrastination," Mubarak said. He described the Palestinian problem as "a time bomb," adding that unless it was resolved "everything will hang in the balance."
Israel's credibility in the peace process has been undermined, he said, and, therefore, Barak needs to take "daring and courageous" decisions to clinch peace deals on the remaining Arab tracks.
Mubarak also warned that Damascus was "fed up with Israel's hesitation," noting that Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad closely monitors the manner in which the Israelis deal with the Palestinians, their procrastination and failure to implement signed agreements. "I completely understand that Al-Assad refuses to be treated the same way and wants guarantees" that Israel will withdraw from the Golan Heights, he said.
The president affirmed Hizbullah's "legitimate right" to resist Israeli occupation, adding that Tel Aviv's criticism of his visit to Beirut last week was "pompous." He stressed that Israeli officials should be "more cautious with their statements which stir up anger and hatred on the Arab street."
While excluding the possibility of war in the region if the peace process deteriorates, the president warned of "destructive violence in the absence of peace."
