Unmasking Sharon

Recent developments on the Palestinian and Syrian tracks underscore how important it is to expose Israel's true intentions towards the peace process, writes Ibrahim Nafie

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In the level-headedness demonstrated in the wake of the death of President Yasser Arafat, Palestinian factions of all hues have poised themselves to put paid to Sharon's long-held claim that he had no Palestinian peace partner. They have conducted a smooth and balanced handover of Arafat's powers and have already begun to lay the groundwork for the presidential elections scheduled for 9 January. Fatah has shown its determination to mend internal rifts through its unanimous nomination of Mahmoud Abbas as president and Marwan Barghouti's withdrawal of his candidacy will enable the electoral process to proceed all the more smoothly. In addition, the Palestinian factions have signalled their desire to maintain calm on the domestic front and have begun steps to revive the dialogue between them aimed at reaching a consensus over a uniform national strategy.

The recent visit by a top-level Palestinian delegation to Cairo has confirmed Egypt's continued commitment to the Palestinian cause. During this visit President Hosni Mubarak outlined his assessment of the current situation in Palestine and the responsibilities that fall on Palestinian shoulders at this juncture. In particular he emphasised the need for a strong and united Palestinian leadership.

"Any weakening of the PA and any manifestations of division and fragmentation will undermine the Palestinian position, hamper the pursuit of Palestinian national causes and hand a free gift to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon," he said. The president further underscored the need to intensify the national dialogue and to strengthen the foundations for maintaining law and order in the territories.

Mubarak's advice can be reduced to three main points -- security, elections and national dialogue -- that must be observed if the Palestinians are to embark on a new and robust phase of action that will bring an independent Palestinian state within reach.

Keeping the Palestinian house in order entails "ending the armed chaos and maintaining a single legitimate armed force" as Abbas put it. The proliferation of militias among the various factions flagrantly undermines the PA's authority and prestige, qualities that are vital if it is to effectively press the Palestinian cause abroad. Although the factions are clearly committed to the struggle of liberating the occupied territories and although their actions have been an understandable response to the brutality of the occupation forces, we must acknowledge that the PA must have the ability to maintain law and order. Above all, this is a condition of the roadmap and complying with it will put paid to one of Israel's many pretexts for avoiding it. We must also admit that one result of the factions' undirected use of force has been the Israeli incursion into territories from which it had withdrawn. It is time to give the negotiating process a reasonable chance by "halting the militarisation of the Intifada", as Abbas put it.

The municipal, legislative and presidential elections are, of course, a means for Palestinians to exercise their right to choose the officials they deem best qualified to defend their interests and lay the foundations for a Palestinian state. All Palestinian factions must do their utmost to ensure that this crucial process is conducted as smoothly as possible. While Israel, as the occupying power, has certain obligations, it falls upon the Palestinians to draw up the necessary timetables and procedures. Their success in reaching agreements over such arrangements will encourage regional and international powers to pressure Israel to take the necessary measures to facilitate elections.

The third cornerstone -- national dialogue -- is the most vital. It is a prerequisite for the successful achievement of the first two and it must continue as Palestinians move towards negotiations with Israel and the creation of a state. Fortunately this dialogue will not begin from scratch. Numerous rounds have already been held in Ramallah, Gaza and Cairo, and much can be drawn from these experiences in future rounds.

The recent visit by the Palestinian delegation to Cairo has given Egypt reason to believe that the current Palestinian leadership is committed to these three points. The Palestinians must be given all possible support and encouragement to remain on this track, for the alternative will be disastrous for the Palestinian cause. The inability to maintain security, the failure to hold elections on time or the collapse of the national dialogue will erode international sympathy for their cause and present Sharon with excuses to wriggle out of the roadmap, revert to his unilateral plan, continue construction of the separating wall and dissect the occupied territories into separate, isolated cantons.

On the Syrian track President Bashar Al- Assad has announced that he was ready to begin negotiations with Israel unconditionally. The announcement, conveyed by UN Middle East envoy Terje Rod Larson, has put Israel in a corner. Tel Aviv has long insisted on an unconditional resumption of negotiations with Damascus, and has portrayed Syrian demands that negotiations resumed at the point they left off as a precondition. The last thing Israel wants is to resume negotiations with Syria, since this would ultimately entail a withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Confronted with Damascus's recent announcement, it hastened to come up with preconditions of its own -- Damascus must close down the offices of Palestinian organisations, sever relations with Hizbullah and wage war on "terrorism".

Nothing could be more indicative of the reality that it is Israel, not the Arabs, that presents the true obstacle to peace in this region. It is of utmost importance at this stage that the Arabs, and the Palestinians and Syrians in particular, keep up their drive to expose Israel's true face.