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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 19 - 25 October 2000 Issue No. 504 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 19 - 25 October 2000 Issue No. 504
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Elections Palestine International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Travel Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters From one summit to another
By Salama Ahmed Salama
It took tremendous pressure and numerous compromises on the part of all parties involved, to convene a limited international summit in Sharm Al-Sheikh. High on the agenda was the need to address the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories caused by Israel's escalation of military operations against the Palestinians, leaving dozens of Palestinian victims; to determine the causes of the explosion, triggered by Sharon's violation of the Haram Al-Sharif and fuelled by the siege of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Sharm Al-Sheikh summit this time did not follow the format that Clinton wanted, Mubarak turned down, and that was designed merely to save Barak and render the forthcoming Arab summit redundant. For the United States and Israel, the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit was not a normal meeting, since the parties invited to attend (specifically the secretaries-general of the UN and the EU) and testify to the crimes committed by Israel on the one hand, and bear responsibility for the restoration of calm to the region on the other, were the very same parties the United States and Israel had deliberately excluded from such meetings all along. The United States' acceptance of UN and EU involvement is tantamount to an admission that it no longer holds all the cards.
The excessive pressures exerted by the United States on Arab governments broke the floodgates throughout the Arab world: the Intifada rages on in Palestine, but there are other repercussions manifested in the explosions in Aden and Sana'a, the kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah in Lebanon and a fourth who is a colonel in the Israeli army, and the challenging by most Arab countries of the blockade imposed on Baghdad. The US has won only the hatred of the Arabs and lost its credibility in the Arab world. It can no longer mask its long-standing bias toward Israel.
The composition of the summit elicited much confusion, as some claimed it would make the Arab summit scheduled for next week redundant. Yet in view of the gravity of the situation on the ground, there was a need for prompt and decisive action. The Palestinian people were being massacred by the Israeli military machine; the world watched the relentless siege of Arab villages and towns and the calculated murder of children and innocent civilians. The Arab world had proved itself incapable of responding to such atrocities; it only deplores, condemns, riots, demonstrates, burns the Israeli flag and curses Barak and Sharon. Qatar is still deliberating whether it should shut down the Israeli commercial office in Doha or not. Such lethargy will not save the grave situation in Palestine.
We should remember that it took only 48 hours to convene the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit, as against the tedious and lengthy process of getting all the Arab leaders to agree on an Arab summit at a specified date. We must admit that the Arab world has squandered its energy and resources, placed itself at the mercy of foreign powers, and compromised its ability to take a firm and unified stance. If the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit can halt the blood bath in Palestine, and furnish guarantees that Israel will never again repeat such atrocities, the Arab summit will still have plenty difficult issues to address in the longer term. Urgent issues include the protection of Jerusalem; agreement on minimum support to the Palestinians in their fight for their rights; support for Lebanon against Israeli violation of its sovereignty, and for Syria against attempts to absorb parts of the Golan; and addressing the possibility of an Israeli coalition government. The Arab summit must establish a clear definition of peace as a "strategic option," and the implications of that option. This will not be possible unless Iraq is re-admitted to the Arab fold.
Soon, a new president will be in the White House; we should harbour no illusions.
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