Washed up

Hopes for a breakthrough in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations during the Mediterranean summit were dashed, reports Doaa El-Bey

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Sarkozy shares a joke with Mubarak at the Union for the Mediterranean founding summit in Paris

During the launching of the new Union for the Mediterranean, especially given that Israel was present, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict came, as expected, to the fore. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and President Hosni Mubarak, who co-chaired the Paris summit, called on all involved parties to work hard to put the peace process back on track.

Mohamed Bassiouni, former Egyptian ambassador to Israel, said the Palestinian-Israeli issue is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and that was normal for it to be raised in any regional or international gathering. Ahead of the summit, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tried to show that he is working for peace. Following talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Olmert said they had never been so close to a peace accord.

"We are approaching the moment when we will have to make decisive choices," Olmert said.

Yet Bassiouni ruled out that a weak Israeli government like Olmert's could reach a comprehensive peace agreement by the end of this year. "Olmert is just trying to reach a framework for an agreement that would help him resolve the internal problems he is facing at present," he said.

Olmert promised Abbas to release a new group of Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture. He did not say how many would be released or specify the time of the release. Olmert ruled out that this gesture would be in the direction of Hamas. Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by the movement more than two years ago.

Hopes were pending on the influence of Sarkozy and the presence of other influential European states for a breakthrough in Palestinian- Israeli negotiations. The summit, however, did not see any real progress. Mere words from Olmert with no sign that they would be matched by deeds were the order of the day. Moreover, the final communiqué of the summit dashed all hopes that other members of the new union would support the Palestinian cause.

The communiqué voiced heads of state and governments' support for Palestinian-Israeli peace according to the Annapolis process, but did not mention a two state solution or the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state by the end of 2008. The Palestinians objected, but they were allegedly subject to heavy pressure to accept the communiqué as is and it was duly distributed.

The two parties also disagreed over other wording in the final communiqué. The Palestinian delegation did not accept the reference to Israel as the "state of the Jewish people". In addition, the draft communiqué referred to the Arab Peace Initiative -- a land-for-peace proposal adopted by the Arab states. However, no reference was made to it in the final communiqué distributed.

Thus the final communiqué adopted vague, non-committal language regarding the Palestinian-Israeli issue. Sarkozy, however, declared that the final wording of the communiqué would be discussed further together with other details related to the union, like the location of its permanent offices and the size of its secretariat.

Bassiouni regarded the Israeli wish to include the phrase "Jewish state" in the communiqué as a further proof that they do not want to give the Palestinians their legal rights, especially the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

Although the summit appears to be a success on many levels, it failed on the Palestinian-Israeli level. As Kouchner put it, "something appears to be starting. But I am sad to say that discussions between Israelis and Palestinians are not part of it for the time being."

There are also limitations to the role that Sarkozy can play. The US has been the traditional sponsor of the peace process and would be reluctant to give away that role to the French president. Washington in Annapolis last November vowed to help the two parties reach the outlines of a final status agreement by the end of 2008.

Though the two sides have met regularly since Annapolis, differences have grown over several issues, including the fate of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Abbas and Olmert were among 43 other leaders gathering in Paris to launch the new Union for the Mediterranean, which aims to boost cooperation across the Mediterranean. For the time being, the union appears set to focus on innocuous economic and scientific projects, like cleaning up pollution in the Mediterranean and developing solar energy.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa asked the new union to keep in mind the plight of the Palestinian people. He added that he did not expect the new union to "find a solution, because the solutions are there and are known".