Inching closer
Israel must learn to listen, not only to its own, obstinate inner voice, but to the voices of others: the United States, the European Union, the Arab world and, especially, the Palestinians. Israelis must realise that it is intransigence that is their worst enemy and not the Palestinians' rightful struggle to achieve a sovereign state.Israel's right to sovereign existence cannot preclude Palestinian national self-determination and it is only Washington that can prevail on the Israelis to understand this verity.
The extraordinary meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Jordan came as a reminder of the importance of allowing peace in the region to prevail before economic development and growth can take place.
The political, business, and civil society leaders meeting on the shores of the Dead Sea placed a resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the top of their agenda.
WEF founder and head, Claus Schwab, declared that the Dead Sea meeting was a "summit of reconciliation".
The meeting, which came in the aftermath of the US-led military invasion and occupation of Iraq, signalled the beginning of a new start in relations between Arab countries and the West.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived two days before the WEF summit meeting in Jordan commenced. After it ended he visited Israel and the West Bank for talks with the Palestinian and Israeli prime ministers.
Washington signalled its readiness to include other influential powers in talks to bring peace to the Middle East and Powell also held talks with the representatives of the Quartet that launched the roadmap: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov; Foreign Minister George Papandreou of Greece, the current EU president; and EU top foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
The draft of the Palestinian-Israeli agreement has been conveyed to US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice who is due to visit the region soon and it is hoped that she will exert some influence on the Israelis to soften their intransigent stance.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 26 June - 2 July 2003 (Issue No. 644)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/644/ed.htm