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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Palestine International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The end, at last
The Arab summit that convened in Cairo this week may not have reached the results most Arabs were anticipating. Still, it was a step in the right direction. Not only did all 22 members of the Arab League meet for the first time in 10 years (in itself a remarkable achievement, as those acquainted with inter-Arab politics will have realised) they also sent a clear message of warning to Israel. One Arab leader after another affirmed that the rules that have guided the peace negotiations since 1991 are no longer valid.Palestinian-Israeli agreements are signed, only to be renegotiated after a few weeks. Every time Israel carries out one of its minor obligations, it expects praise from all over the world, and ignores the fact that it did not carry out its other, more important commitments. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, as one commentator put it, sounds like a broken record, repeating: "I am not seeking the moon. I only want the implementation of agreements signed with Israel and sponsored by the United States." This repetitiveness is hardly his fault.
In 1993, Israel agreed to carry out three stages of withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories, leaving only 10 per cent of the land to be discussed in final settlement talks. It also committed itself to releasing all Palestinian prisoners, opening safe passages between the two self-rule enclaves in the West Bank and Gaza and facilitating the movement of goods and people between the self-rule areas, Egypt and Jordan. Now, after the declaration of statehood has been postponed repeatedly to demonstrate the Palestinians' commitment to the peace process, over three million Palestinians continue to live under a racist occupation, controlling barely 23 per cent of a land that is theirs by historical, moral and legal right. For Israel and its supporters, this is a victory. For the Arab leaders who met in Cairo this past week, it is an intolerable situation, and there is no reason for the Arabs to accept it.
Israel, however, insists on having its cake and eating it alone. Our only option is to resist, and provide all the support we can to the Intifada. Until Palestine is independent, the souls of our dead, killed by brutal Israeli soldiers and their repressive, racist government, will not rest in peace.
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