28 June - 4 July 2001
Issue No.540
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 June - 4 July 2001 Issue No.540 |
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Slash and burn
As US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in the region yesterday in hope of restoring calm, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was in Washington trying to convince the US administration to get rid of the Palestinian Authority and its leader Yasser Arafat once and for all. The right-wing Israeli premier has been openly claiming that "Arafat rules a coalition of terror." "I think Arafat is an obstacle," Sharon told Newsweek in an interview published on Tuesday.If this is the message Sharon is carrying to Washington, how can anyone hope for calm in the region, or imagine that peace talks can resume anytime soon? US officials failed to criticise Sharon's incendiary statements; on the contrary, US President George Bush stood by him, praising his "restraint" in facing "terror attacks."
When US Secretary Powell meets with Arab leaders during his current tour, he will be told that Arab public opinion is deeply distressed at the US's position. Arafat, under tremendous pressure, has been exerting all possible efforts to maintain the cease- fire agreed upon with CIA director George Tenet two weeks ago. In return, Sharon, who is now being sued in Belgium as a war criminal for supervising the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre of hundreds of Palestinians, has been threatening a major crackdown if Arafat does not order his people to stop the "violence."
The US administration knows Sharon is lying when he claims that he is showing restraint or that he respects Tenet's cease-fire plan. Since that agreement was reached, Israeli occupation troops have continued to shoot Palestinian children; extremist settlers protected by Israeli forces have been on a rampage, attacking Palestinians and burning their property. Sharon, shortly before leaving to Washington, called a cabinet meeting in which he ordered the resumption of Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian activists suspected of playing a role in the uprising. The following day, a public telephone booth exploded, killing a leading Fatah figure.
The Arabs only want the US to be even in dealing with the Middle East peace process. Refusing to acknowledge Israel's daily atrocities can only make matters worse. If the US cannot show fairness, perhaps it should stay out of the region instead.
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