6 - 12 December 2001
Issue No.563
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 6 - 12 December 2001 Issue No.563 |
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Cairo cautions against vengeance cycle
Cairo believes the only alternative to the Palestinian-Israeli cycle of violence is a return to the negotiating table. Nevine Khalil reports
As Israel started bombing the Palestinian Authority's Gaza headquarters a few minutes before Iftar on Monday, President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah met in Cairo to discuss the escalating violence which marked a significant setback for, if not the near collapse of, the Middle East peace process. Mubarak and Abdullah agreed to meet in the course of a telephone conversation a day earlier which followed the news of Palestinian suicide attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa. The two leaders were apparently spurred by fears of massive Israeli reprisals. After nearly two hours of talks, a statement was issued by the two sides condemning "acts of violence and retaliatory responses by Israel and the Palestinians." The statement urged the international community to intensify efforts to relaunch negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, "with the objective of rescuing the Middle East region from danger."
President Mubarak and King Abdullah met to assess the deteriorating state of the peace process; a topic topping the agenda during talks between Mubarak and US envoy Burns
The two leaders affirmed the importance of "making all possible efforts to salvage the situation" and of "joint action in support of the active and sincere efforts made by the United States to revive the peace process."
The two leaders appealed to Israel and the Palestinians to be more responsive to Washington's efforts "in order to avoid a further deterioration of the situation."
According to Information Minister Safwat El- Sherif, Mubarak and Abdullah also underlined the importance of the efforts being made by the European Union, Russia and the UN secretary- general "to defuse the situation." They believe these efforts should be concerted "in order to bring the peace process back on track and realise security and stability for the region," El-Sherif said.
Mubarak affirmed "the necessity of renouncing the use of force and retaliation whose victims are innocent civilians," El-Sherif added. Mubarak also argued that there can be no alternative to a return to the negotiating table.
On Tuesday, Mubarak told Lebanon's Al-Safir newspaper that the US should re-engage in regional peacemaking. He also called for intensified roles by the Europeans, Russians and the UN to stop the bloodshed.
Soon after the Israeli strikes began, Mubarak spoke by telephone with Yasser Arafat, who was in the West Bank town of Ramallah, for first- hand information on the situation.
On the eve of the strikes, Mubarak's chief political adviser Osama El-Baz affirmed that Egypt supports the Palestinian people politically, diplomatically and morally, and called on the world community to "shoulder its responsibility and confront Israel's intransigence in order to stem the violence." El-Baz suggested that the declaration of a Palestinian state was "inevitable and that the only option [for Israel] is to coexist with the Palestinians."
Cairo was one of the stops which US peace envoy William Burns visited last week in an attempt to gain a better understanding of how to end the violence and relaunch peace talks. Burns, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, accompanied Gen Anthony Zinni on a mission to the region in a quest for peace. Zinni had been expected to stay in the region until a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire had been arranged. There were hopes that Zinni and Burns would be able to hammer out a deal for the implementation of the Mitchell recommendations and the Tenet plan. But their efforts were scuttled by Israel's targeted killing of Abu Hannoud, the Hamas military leader, the Palestinian suicide bombings and Israel's retaliatory strikes
Shortly before the suicide attacks in West Jerusalem on Saturday, Mubarak sent a message to the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of Palestinians, suggesting that the peace process can only be revived through "the honest implementation" of international law, UN resolutions and the Mitchell recommendations. Mubarak added that "today, more than at any other time, the Palestinians need the support of the international community and the UN in their confrontation with Israeli military might." He said he was confident that the UN would do all it could "to support the Palestinians in the battle for their rights in the current crisis."
But within hours, the cycle of violence had thrown the peace process off course, making the world community less eager to listen to calls for a return to dialogue.
Mubarak said he was saddened by the violence and the killing of Israeli civilians, especially that it came "at a time when international efforts were being made to calm down the situation." He reiterated Egypt's condemnation of "all acts of violence which target the innocent" and called for "a halt to all acts of retaliation to stem the bloodshed." He also urged an end to all acts which undermine peace efforts in order to bring about security and stability for both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.
Mubarak's cautioned there was "no alternative but a return to negotiations and dialogue and renouncing the use of force and acts of vengeance."
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