Efforts push on

WHILE MOST of Egypt's diplomatic efforts focussed on the six-way Istanbul meeting on Iraq, Cairo also remained engaged on the Palestinian-Israeli front by encouraging continued dialogue among Palestinian factions, reports Soha Abdelaty . Despite conflicting reports that one of the factions -- Hamas -- has refused to cease all attacks against Israelis for one year, President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday that the Palestinians must close ranks through dialogue in order to form a united front.

"No one said this dialogue would be easy," noted Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Saturday, "but the dialogue will continue." Cairo's efforts were applauded by the US, because it sees that with a cease-fire "we can have the first most important step in the road map that we all want to see start," as US Ambassador to Cairo David Welch put it on Sunday. "Egypt is playing a good role in leading this effort." Welch said that the US roadmap to peace remains on the table, and that "everybody should lend their weight to that."

But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose Likud Party is likely to remain in power after next week's elections, believes otherwise. He dismissed the efforts being made by the diplomatic Quartet -- which includes representatives from the US, EU, Russia and UN who will be holding their next meeting in February -- as "nothing [that should be taken] seriously".

The Europeans, meanwhile, are taking themselves seriously. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, whose country presides over the EU troika, will embark on a regional tour next week, accompanied by the EU's special envoy to the Middle East Miguel Moratinos. The Spanish foreign minister was also expected in Cairo yesterday, and the German foreign minister tomorrow. Maher will be travelling to Paris on Monday for talks with his French counterpart.

"Israel's view is that the United States and Israeli vision are the only practical interpretations which could lead to peace in the Middle East," Sharon had said. But US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington was "fully supportive of the Quartet, which we helped create". Powell told reporters on Monday that "We have worked very hard to develop a roadmap that we believe will lead us on to a path that will result ultimately in the creation of a Palestinian state."

For their part, Arab Israelis hope that in case Sharon returns to power -- as indicated by the latest polls -- he will fail to form a coalition government and be forced into a narrow right-wing government. Such a government, observers note, will have little chance of success. "Sharon might return as head of a narrow, fascist government, which would allow the peace camp to form a strong opposition," said Arab Democratic Party (ADP) President Abdel-Wahab Al-Darawsha on Monday. "What would be worse is his return to power as head of a national unity government with Labour." Al-Darawsha was speaking after meeting Maher to discuss the situation ahead of Israel's 28 January elections. He was accompanied by ADP Knesset member Talab Al-Sane', who noted that the Israeli elections were "important in dictating the future of the region; whether matters will continue to derail, or whether there will be a transformation that gives hope to the region".