10 - 16 May 2001
Issue No.533
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 10 - 16 May 2001 Issue No.533 |
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An opportunity missed
Has Israel managed to strangle the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative and drain it of any life or are Peres's peregrinations around the world's capitals aimed at reviving a degree of hope in the peace process and restricting attempts at further escalating the violence by the Sharon camp?
The evidence appears to suggest that the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative has entered a cul-de-sac. The most recent meeting between Peres and the American administration in Washington did not result in any progress towards the implementation of a solution satisfactory to both parties, though it may well have the result of restoring some semblance of calm to Gaza. America should have used the opportunity to demand Israel take practical steps to halt military operations against Palestinians and begin to implement the terms of the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative, yet statements made by Bush and Peres -- and with them Colin Powell -- consisted of little more than an exchange of compliments between the two men. The Americans made no mention of the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative, save for Bush's advice to Peres to "look out for" Egypt and Jordan, two countries that have been working tirelessly for peace.
The European position is, if anything, even more disappointing. And if the clamour that has been generated by the statements of European officials in support of the initiative continues, it rings hollow. For one thing, dangerous developments within Palestine itself are not being paid sufficient attention. In addition, Peres's attempts to persuade the German chancellor to oppose any actions that might affect Israeli-European trade relations appears to have paid off.
The globe-trotting of Peres apart, Sharon's rejection of the initiative and his reiteration of a staunchly Zionist position in a series of recent statements suggests that Peres was never in a position to make suggestions of any kind. Which just might explain the vacillating positions taken by the Israeli foreign minister, most noticeable following his meeting with President Mubarak when, after claiming that a cease-fire agreement had been reached with the Palestinians, it turned out that nothing of the sort had been reached at all.
In two consecutive interviews given to the French Le Figaro and the Hebrew Ha'aretz, respectively, Sharon pointed out that he had no intention of altering his expansionist policies with regards to Jewish settlements or Jerusalem, that he would not grant the Palestinian state more than 42 per cent of the occupied lands and that he did not recognise any agreements -- including Camp David and Taba -- reached prior to his taking office.
All of which would suggest that the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative is already fading. One straw at which the Arabs appear to be clutching consists of the frail hopes embodied in the report of the fact-finding commission headed by the former senator George Mitchell. Details of the report have already been leaked, suggesting that it includes a paragraph or two supportive of the Palestinians and critical of the Israeli government's handling of the Intifada. Unfortunately the report is unlikely to have much impact unless there is a sea-change in Washington's de facto support of Israel's current policy.
Insufficient attention has, so far, been paid to trying to understand the thought processes of Ariel Sharon, a man who has managed, somehow, to mobilise an alarming cross-section of Israeli society to his cause. In 10, maybe 15 years, Sharon may well be thinking, Israel will have grown in strength, while falls in the price of oil could well have plunged neighbouring Arab states into economic crisis. By that time, too, Israel will have assimilated another one million immigrants, their purpose being to populate the Negev desert and in doing so reinforce the pillars of the Zionist state.
In the face of the renaissance of such extreme Zionism, and its concomitant rejection of any peaceful solution, it is surely time for the Arabs to re-coordinate their own positions, possibly through another summit.
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