5 - 11 July 2001
Issue No.541
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 5 - 11 July 2001 Issue No.541 |
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Accessory to the crime
Ariel Sharon has made it quite clear that he does not want to end the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. Indeed, several reports indicate that the right-wing premier went to Washington last week to get the green light for an all-out onslaught against territories under PA control, an attack that may even target Yasser Arafat personally.Following the attack on a Syrian radar position in Lebanon earlier this week, the Likud leader is now threatening to drag the region into a new war.
Since CIA Director George Tenet forged a cease-fire agreement three weeks ago, Sharon has not respected a single one of his commitments under it. Arafat, in contrast, has been doing his best to persuade the Palestinians to abandon their legitimate struggle against a racist occupation. Yet Sharon insists on keeping the West Bank and Gaza under siege, and has ordered his army to resume its policy of assassinating Palestinians. In one week, the Israeli army killed four activists, a clear violation of international law.
In response, US Secretary of State Colin Powell remains passive. Instead of condemning the Israeli government, he has said Sharon is the only party entitled to decide whether the situation is calm enough to allow the implementation of other measures agreed on by the two sides and supported by the international community. Diminishing further the US's already moribund credibility, Powell has retracted a statement he made while standing next to Arafat in the West Bank, when he agreed that an "international observer" force should monitor the cease-fire. After a meeting with Sharon, Powell again gave Israel the right to decide alone whether it would accept observers. While admitting that it was impossible to meet Sharon's condition (the total cessation of all resistance), Powell did not bother to make that clear to the Israeli premier himself.
The Arab countries have repeatedly stated that the US's role is indispensable if a peaceful settlement is to be reached. Now, however, they consider the US nothing more than an accessory to Israel's aggression.
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