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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A new state of play
By Dina Ezzat
The short trilateral statement, signed by the Palestinians, the Israelis and the US and issued from Camp David on Tuesday following the breakdown of talks, insists that "the two sides," i.e. the Palestinians and the Israelis, understand "the importance of avoiding unilateral actions that prejudge the outcome of negotiations." But it is a statement that raises more questions than it provides answers given Yasser Arafat's oft-repeated intention to declare an independent Palestinian state -- either with or without a final agreement -- by the 13 September deadline set for the final peace agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. That deadline is less than seven weeks away.
Now that the Camp David II summit has collapsed, will Arafat go ahead with the declaration? Almost immediately after the trilateral statement was issued, Freih Abu Meddein, the Palestinian justice minister, was in no doubt, telling AFP in Gaza: "We are preparing for the announcement of statehood on 13 September. That is what will happen, and if Israel interferes with this, they will be responsible."
Significantly, Arafat's first port of call after leaving the failed talks was Egypt. He arrived in Alexandria yesterday for consultations with President Mubarak.
Egypt is expected to play a pivotal role in coordinating the efforts needed to furnish Arafat with the necessary backing were he to go ahead with an independent Palestinian state next September. And there are strong indications that Egypt is more than willing to play this role. Days before the announcement of the collapse of the Camp David talks Egypt was in any case already in close contact with several Arab and non-Arab states in an attempt to coordinate post-Camp David II positions.
"We are interested in pushing forward the establishment of a Palestinian state with everybody's [recognition] and within the framework of an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis. But, in the absence of this, if President Arafat decided to declare a Palestinian state -- which is his undeniable right -- then we will support it," Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told reporters hours after the talks collapsed.
The foreign minister underlined Egypt's "hope that the peace process will not fail." He said, however, that the process could succeed only if it recognised Palestinian rights, including the return of both Palestinian territories and refugees, stipulated in UN resolutions.
US ambassador to Cairo, Daniel Kurtzer, who met with Moussa on Tuesday evening, told reporters after the meeting that both Egypt and the US believed that "the peace process still has life in it" and that the two countries would intensify contacts in an attempt to further the process, and consider the "next move." And this "next move," according to official sources, does not exclude discussions of the possible declaration of a Palestinian state.
Official sources have suggested that in addition to the bilateral talks that President Hosni Mubarak is likely to hold over the next few days, a six-way meeting bringing together Arab front-line states -- Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians, with Morocco, chair of the Jerusalem Committee, and Saudi Arabia -- may be convened. This small-scale Arab summit, one diplomatic source said, is likely to have a one-item agenda -- political and financial support for Arafat's expected decision to declare a Palestinian state.
"An independent Palestinian state is something that the Palestinian people demand [and] for this declaration to be meaningful there has to be a sizable international recognition... Arab countries should help Arafat with this move," said the official.
Arafat, already facing criticism from Israel and the US for not showing the flexibility that might have made Camp David a success-- something US President Bill Clinton has praised Barak for doing-- is in dire need of Arab support.
"Arab coordination is obviously needed during the coming few weeks. Even if this small-scale summit does not convene there will still be a series of inter-Arab meetings and consultations," say Egyptian diplomatic sources.
Along with King Abdullah of Jordan, a number of other Arab leaders are expected to arrive in Egypt shortly. But whether a small-scale Arab summit convenes -- or even a full-scale summit, as some parties hope -- much work needs to be done to close Arab ranks and formulate a united stance behind the Palestinians, not least a thawing in Syrian- Palestinians relations.
Any deal on the Syrian track, though unlikely in the short-term, would leave the Palestinians in an unenviable position. "And this is precisely the reason Egypt is encouraging Syrian-Palestinian rapprochement, to deny Israel its favourite game of playing Syrians against Palestinians," insisted a senior Egyptian diplomat.
