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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'There are limits'
As Egypt's ambassador to Tel Aviv was heading back to Cairo yesterday President Hosni Mubarak was meeting with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to discuss the escalation of violence in the Palestinian territories. Following the meeting Arafat praised Cairo's decision to recall Mohamed Bassiouni. "The recall was more than just a diplomatic move, it is a message to the whole world," he said, "a very serious message, signifying that measures can be taken to protest Israeli policy and that the Arabs will not remain silent while aggression continues."
The recall came a day after Israeli helicopter gunships pounded the Gaza Strip with hundreds of rockets in the most severe strike against the Palestinians in the seven weeks since violence erupted. The Egyptian move is meant to send a very strong message from the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
How long Bassiouni will stay in Egypt is unclear. Cairo intends to "review comprehensively" the overall situation in light of escalating Israeli aggression, according to Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. He said yesterday that Bassiouni's recall gave "a serious signal [to Israel] that there are limits," emphasising meanwhile that Egypt "supports and will continue to strive for a just and balanced peace."
Cairo still hopes, though, that the peace process can be revived. But "our message to Israel is that it would be a mistake to depend on its strategy of terrorism and fear as a way of forcing the Arabs to accept any settlement," stressed Moussa. He mocked Israel's Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami's claim that Egypt was withdrawing from the peace process, saying that "if Egypt withdrew, there would be no peace process at all."
Following his meeting with Arafat yesterday morning, President Mubarak met with US Defence Secretary William Cohen who asked the president to send back Bassiouni "as soon as possible." Cohen, who ended his tour in the region by visiting Israel, told reporters following his meeting with Mubarak the Egyptian president had "indicated that conditions had to be such that he could return the ambassador." While Washington urged Cairo to reconsider its decision in order to remain "engaged despite the difficulties and differences" with Israel, Mubarak wants to see a "cessation of the violence" first, Cohen said.
Bassiouni's recall met with exuberance on the Arab popular level. Palestinians readily welcomed the decision calling it "courageous," an underscoring of Egypt's unflinching commitment to the Palestinian people. Processions were organised in several Palestinian towns in the West Bank and Gaza, during which Egyptian flags were hoisted and portraits of President Mubarak raised. "Egypt always leads the way, now other Arab and Islamic countries should follow suit," said one demonstrator in Ramallah.
In Egypt, a Muslim Brotherhood statement issued Wednesday morning echoed the welcome President Mubarak's decision received from all opposition parties. "This decision," the statement read, "should be the first step towards the realisation of the will of the Egyptian people to support the uprising of the Palestinians, and to provide them with every possible help in continuing their resistance."
If Israel wants Egypt to reverse its recall decision, then "Israel has to reverse its policies first," Moussa said. Senior officials, though, are unlikely to be holding their breath waiting for an end to the current wave of violence. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has yet to display any real intention to act to end the violence.
"Barak, who withdrew the Israeli army from south Lebanon signalling their defeat by Hizbullah, is unlikely to want to swap his image as Israel's most decorated soldier for that of the one Israeli official who made the most concessions to the Arabs," commented an Egyptian official source.
No initiatives for the renewal of the peace process appear on the immediate horizon. The outgoing US administration has run out of ideas -- or as one source described it, "out of hope" -- of ending violence in the occupied territories, much less getting Palestinian-Israeli negotiations back on track, while "the Europeans are not putting any real pressure on Israel to reduce its use of force," commented the same official.
Little is expected to change before the new US administration settles in the White House by next spring. By which time Israel itself will probably have held elections that will determine Barak's own fate.
It remains to be seen how Egypt's decision will affect other Arab countries. According to Moussa, Egypt will continue to consult with Arab capitals about how best to deal with any escalation of violence against the Palestinians. Meanwhile, in the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League, Arab finance ministers meet today to decide how to finance the $1 billion Jerusalem and Intifada funds agreed on during last month's Arab summit.
Nevine Khalil and Dina Ezzat in Cairo; Khaled Amayreh in Jerusalem
Related stories:
The cost of vengeance
Poles apart 16 - 22 November 2000
The cost of weakness 16 - 22 November 2000
Tempered anger at the summit 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000
Intifada in focus 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000
Intifada special 19 - 25 October 2000
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