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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 May 2000 Issue No. 480 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 May 2000 Issue No. 480
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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 Business as usual
By Graham Usher
Even by the standards of the recurring crises that have long shackled the Oslo process, the opening of the third round of final status negotiations in Eilat on Sunday must be some sort of record. For no sooner had the Palestinian negotiators landed at Israel's most luxurious resort than they were convening an impromptu press conference, slamming Israel's latest move to "undermine Palestinian faith in the credibility of the process," in the words of Chief PLO negotiator for the final status issues, Yasser Abed Rabbo.
The Palestinians were protesting the Israeli Housing Ministry's decision that same day to put out tenders to build 174 new apartments at Maale Adumim, already the largest Jewish settlement in the occupied territories, with a land area of about 50,000 dunams and a settler population of 24,000. The anger was compounded because the Palestinians had been under the impression that, since December, there was an "agreement" with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that no new tenders for settlements would be issued for the duration of the negotiations for reaching a Framework Agreement on final status issues.
If so, it was clearly news to the Housing Ministry, still under the messianic stewardship of National Religious Party leader Yitzak Levy. While Barak was evincing "surprise" at the Maale Adumim decision, Meretz Member of Knesset and Peace Now activist, Mossi Raz, revealed that some 847 other tenders had been issued in the occupied territories during the "freeze." These, of course, exclude the 7,000 units presently under construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, tenders for which were issued and ratified by the government prior to December.
Not that such matters either halted the talks or the general camaraderie that accompanied them. Israeli negotiators toasted PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat on his birthday, while the Palestinians were buoyed by Israeli Cabinet Minister Haim Ramon's off-the-cuff recognition that "a Palestinian state already exists de facto." But Ramon was quick to tote up the price of this accolade. "The Palestinians are also aware that settlements like Maale Adumim will be annexed to Israel in any final peace treaty," he added.
The Palestinians are wary that a similar tag might be attached to the flood of Israeli press leaks that Barak is about to offer them "full control" of the Jerusalem border villages of Abu Dis, Azzariyya and Suwahara. These, Barak has reportedly implied, could serve as an "advance" on Oslo's third and final West Bank redeployment, now scheduled to be implemented before the end of June. The fear is that the "advance course" could end up being the whole meal.
"How can one of speak of advances without first agreeing on the principle?" asked Erekat, logically, on Saturday. The principle being "how much [land] will be handed over to us" in the third redeployment? The Palestinian negotiators believe the third redeployment should return to the Palestinian Authority some 90 per cent of the West Bank. Adu Dis, Azzariyya and Suwahara amount to 0.3 per cent.
Whatever the calculations behind the move, Barak's "advance" has certainly alarmed the right flank of his coalition. The NRP has made it absolutely clear that it will leave the government should the three villages be transferred to the PA before a final status agreement, and the Russian immigrant Yisrael Baaliya party has made it pretty clear it will do likewise.
The one joker in Barak's pack is, typically, the Sephardi Orthodox Party, Shas. Having originally opposed the "advancing" of the three villages, it has suddenly become agnostic on the matter. But most Israeli analysts are convinced Shas will show "appropriate coalition behaviour" in direct ratio to the amount of money Barak forks out to its ailing orthodox school system, especially if such a down payment forces the secularist Meretz faction to leave the coalition in protest. Should that happen before any "advance" occurs, Barak's One Israel bloc will be in coalition with three parties that opposed his candidature in the 1999 elections.
Such are the domestic and political labyrinths US Special Envoy Dennis Ross entered when he arrived in Israel on Tuesday to make concrete President Bill Clinton's vow of "direct and active" US involvement in the negotiations. Not that Ross is expected to waste too much time in Eilat. His first moves appeared to be to set up a meeting between Barak and Yasser Arafat that, according to PLO negotiator Mohamed Dahlan, could occur as early as this week.
This is probably wise. For whatever the gestures at Eilat and crises within Israel's coalition, all are aware that real decisions on the final status issues will happen between Barak and Arafat and under the hothouse atmosphere of American "mediation."
