31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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Sharm quagmire
Yasser Arafat may be hoping for another peace conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, but neither the time nor mood seems right
While Arab countries agree, for the most part, that they need to maintain their suspension of political contacts with the Israeli government they do not necessarily agree on the next move. Which means that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's call for a reconvening of the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, made in the aftermath of the release of the Mitchell report and intended to allow for a discussion of Mitchell's conclusions, has met, on the whole, with a luke-warm response. Israel, at the time, issued a predictably blank refusal while Egypt showed reserved backing for the idea but did not push too hard. And if the Arab League's recent call for suspension of all political contacts with the Israelis as long as Israel continues its aggression against, and blockade on, the Palestinian people and their national authority, appeared to categorically rule out any prospect of a summit soon, the possibility of bringing the parties together again in Sharm El-Sheikh continues to be sporadically raised.
According to diplomatic sources, neither Cairo nor Amman was pleased with the recent Arab League resolution. "But they both decided to go along with the resolution on the assumption that it is a very temporary arrangement," one source said. He added that, with this week's resumption of security talks between Israelis and Palestinians in the presence of the new US envoy to the Middle East, the door is open again to the resumption of political contacts with Israel.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher explained that "[The meeting] is a reasonable suggestion and if it's possible to implement it, then that will be a positive step," but added the condition that Israel needs to prove with "actions" that they are serious about wanting to make peace. "Until now what we have seen doesn't lead us to believe that they will want to work for peace or have a plan for peace. Instead, we have seen a plan to continue aggression," he said.
The reaction from Damascus and Beirut though, is likely to be less than enthusiastic, given Syrian and Lebanese calls for a stronger Arab stance protesting Israeli intransigence and what one Syrian diplomat called its "humiliation" of Palestinians in particular, and Arabs in general. Syria would much rather see a meeting of the League's Damascus-based Israel Boycott Bureau. The Syrians believe that short of imposing a total economic boycott on Israel neither Tel Aviv nor Washington will get the message that the Arabs are serious about taking the side of the Palestinians in the on-going confrontations. And while neither Damascus nor Beirut is saying it is opposed to the resumption of peace talks with Israel at some point both say there is no point in considering dialogue with the current Israeli government if the Arabs are serious about reaching a just and fair settlement.
It is a point of view that has been repeatedly stressed by Syrian diplomats during the past few days, not least by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa who last week underlined the Syrian position to both Yasser Arafat and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
For his part, Moussa said that according to Arab resolutions convening any meeting "will be based on the implementation of ideas presented in both the Mitchell Report and the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative".
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Moussa argued that "it is obviously useless for the Arabs to conduct contacts with the Israelis when they are still imposing aggression against, and a blockade on, the Palestinians."
In a statement before Saturday's foreign ministers meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Moussa said that "current Israeli policy is based on escalating military and economic pressure on the Palestinians, destroying the Palestinian infra-structure, damaging Palestinian morale and circumventing Arab and Islamic diplomatic moves" that aim to pressure Israel to change this policy.
Yet in Cairo and Amman the argument that since Washington has started to re-engage by sending a new US envoy to the Middle East, the time might be opportune for another round of contacts, seems to be gaining ground. Both capitals appear inclined to consider seriously the possibilities of hosting an international meeting, most probably in Sharm El-Sheikh, to bring together the concerned international and regional parties to agree on a set of procedural steps for a cessation of clashes between Palestinians and Israelis and a resumption of peace talks. But in both Cairo and Amman, diplomats are also aware that such a move would require a green light from other Arab capitals.
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