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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Political links
By Ahmed Abdel-Halim *
As we celebrate the liberation of Sinai on 25 April, we automatically think of Syria and Lebanon. Israel withdrew from Sinai in implementation of a treaty, while Taba was recovered through international arbitration; the liberation of south Lebanon and the Golan, on the other hand, does not seem so straightforward.
The link between withdrawal from Lebanon and withdrawal from Syria is political, not organic. Lebanon did not participate in the early phases of armed Arab-Israeli conflict. Its relation to Israel is an outcome of the armistice agreement signed by the Arabs in 1949. Hence, the relation is subject not to Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 but to Resolutions 425, which provides for Israel's withdrawal from the south of Lebanon to the 1923 lines, and 426, which is the mechanism governing this withdrawal. Both resolutions were adopted following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1978 and 1982.
By withdrawing unilaterally from south Lebanon, Israel is attempting to reduce its losses, undermine Hizbullah's legitimacy, expose Syria's political involvement in negotiations with Israel, and place Syrian troops in Lebanon in a critical position. The latter goal is particularly significant. The Syrian military presence in Lebanon is a consequence of the Ta'if agreement, under which the Arab countries decided to send peacekeeping troops to Lebanon; and it is the outcome of a free decision by the Lebanese and Syrian governments.
Establishing a link between the Israeli withdrawal from the south of Lebanon and a similar withdrawal of Syrian troops, therefore, is a matter to be determined by the Arabs collectively, and is contingent on Lebanon's decision. Israel has no say in the matter.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is deputy director of the National Centre for Middle East Studies.
