4 -10 April 2002
Issue No.580
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 4 -10 April 2002 Issue No.580 |
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Living with chaos
Israeli Prime Ariel Sharon is running amok in the Middle East. Chaos follows in his trail. The US openly accepts, not to say supports, Sharon's re-invasion of Palestinian territories. The European Union openly admits its political helplessness. Meanwhile, the Arab governments appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene, and the Arab masses demand that their government take action.Action is indeed what the Arab governments need to take. Washington is brushing off political appeals. Equally useless are Arab attempts to persuade the European Union to play a role independent of US policy. And it is abundantly clear that even when the Arab governments can obtain a UN Security Council resolution slightly responsive to their perspective, no action follows the words.
The Arabs have even tried to embarrass Israel politically by issuing a collective peace initiative at the Beirut summit, but the Israeli response to this initiative put paid to such illusions. Only hours later, Ariel Sharon stepped up the re-occupation of Palestinian territories and tightened the siege he has been imposing on Yasser Arafat for months as the world, Arabs included, watches impotently.
It seems, then, that the Arab governments will now have to try an obvious option, but one they have so far failed to pursue: a firm stance.
The Arab people have been calling on their governments to boycott Israel. In every Arab capital, the people are demanding that their governments provide financial, political and military support to the Intifada.
These governments do not seem ready to go that far. But suspending diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv is an option -- provided the Arabs are ready to follow that step with measures that could end the chaos. Otherwise, the Arab world must be prepared to live with what Sharon's brutality may create.
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