Sharon's trap

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Israel's foreign minister visited Cairo earlier this week for talks on Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Israel wants to give the US and the world the impression that it is holding serious talks with the Arabs, or at least with key Arab states concerned with the withdrawal. Last week, Ariel Sharon said that he needs an Egyptian role in Gaza and a Jordanian role in the West Bank. A full disengagement would mean closed borders between Israel and the Gaza Strip. In other words, no traffic in individuals or goods would be allowed and no infrastructure shared between Israel and the Strip, including water and electricity. This means that such traffic has to be conducted across other borders, if the Strip is not turned into a big prison, a home for the disgruntled.

Israel does not want to hold direct negotiations with the Palestinians, does not want to give the Palestinian Authority (PA) credibility. Yet it wants Egypt to communicate its demands to the PA. And it wants the latter to maintain security in the Strip. Israel does not want Palestinian provocations to take place during the withdrawal, when its army would be busy removing settlers, barracks and checkpoints. It is particularly worried that the Palestinians may portray its withdrawal as a military failure. Any provocations, it says, will be answered harshly.

Israel wants to be the only beneficiary of its exit from Gaza, and it wants others to bear the consequences. It is excluding the PA from talks, and it insists on pretending that no Palestinian partner exists. Israel wants Egypt to get involved, perhaps even get in trouble with the Palestinians. It wants a smooth exit from Gaza, while leaving the door open for all sorts of trouble to emerge in the Strip. How would Egypt respond? How would it escape from Sharon's trap? This remains to be seen.