|
|
EGYPT: Camp David Accord Unacceptable to Many
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO, Mar 30 (IPS) - Egyptian and Israeli officials celebrated the anniversary of the Camp David
peace agreement last week. The agreement normalised relations between the
two former adversaries 30 years earlier on Mar. 26. Opposition leaders,
however, are calling for a suspension of the treaty, which they say fails to serve
Egyptian interests.
"The terms of the agreement infringe on Egypt's national sovereignty and
diminish its ability to defend itself," Abdelhalim Kandil, political analyst and
prominent opposition journalist told IPS. "By calling for the suspension of
Camp David, we're merely calling for a restoration of Egyptian sovereignty."
Amid much fanfare on Mar. 26, 1979, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and
Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin signed the peace accord on the White
House lawns in the presence of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "We have won at
last the first step of peace - a first step on a long and difficult road," Carter
said at the time.
Along with returning the Sinai Peninsula - captured by Israel in 1967 - to
Egyptian sovereignty, the Camp David agreement activated diplomatic
relations between Egypt and Israel. Despite fierce Arab and domestic
opposition, the treaty made Cairo the first Arab capital to recognise the self-
proclaimed Jewish state since the latter's establishment in 1948.
In the years since, the only other Arab country to establish full diplomatic
relations with Israel has been the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, which signed
its own bilateral peace deal in 1994. The remaining 21 member states of the
Arab League continue to insist that diplomatic normalisation with Israel come
only within the context of an "equitable" settlement of the longstanding
Israel-Palestine conflict.
After three decades of official peace, the notion of cooperation with Israel -
given its rough treatment of the Palestinian population - remains broadly
unpopular on the Egyptian street.
Critics of Camp David justify their position by pointing to a litany of
violations by Israel of both international law and universally recognised
human rights conventions. Violations include the ongoing siege of the Gaza
Strip, uninterrupted settlement building on occupied Arab land, frequent
assassinations of Palestinian resistance activists, and unconcealed efforts to
purge Jerusalem of its non-Jewish, that is, Palestinian inhabitants.
Israel's recent three-week-long onslaught against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip
reinforced Egyptian perceptions of Israel as a ruthless aggressor. In that
conflict, Israel was widely blamed for indiscriminate use of force as well as
the use of illegal weapons such as white phosphorous, that resulted in the
death of more than 1,400 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians.
"For these reasons, the Egyptian public rejects not only Camp David but any
kind of peace agreement with Israel," Gamal Mazloum, expert in military
affairs and retired Egyptian army general told IPS.
In contrast to the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni
Mubarak, virtually all of Egypt's main opposition parties stand against the
accord and the formal relationship with Israel stipulated therein.
"We refused the peace treaty from day one and we still do," Mohamed Habib,
deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition
movement, stated recently. "There can be no recognition of the Zionist entity
as long as it continues to occupy Arab and Muslim land."
Along with the Brotherhood, Egypt's secular opposition parties also firmly
oppose Camp David. "The agreement has lost any of the popular support it
might once have had," said Kandil.
Kandil said the treaty puts unreasonable restrictions on Egypt, both
politically and in terms of national security.
"Politically, it forces Egypt to fully normalise relations with Israel regardless
of the circumstances. And on a security level, it demands that the Sinai
Peninsula be largely demilitarised."
The terms of the agreement divide the Sinai Peninsula into three parts,
including a fully demilitarised zone - Area A - which extends roughly 30
kilometres from the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip. According to the
treaty, Egypt is allowed to deploy no more than 750 lightly armed border
police in the area.
After the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Egypt - anxious to
secure its border with the volatile enclave - requested permission to increase
its border forces to a total of 3,500. Israel, citing security concerns, turned
down the request.
"These limitations put Egypt at risk by degrading its ability to defend itself
from attack," said Kandil. "Given the current disposition of forces, Israel
could occupy the entire peninsula in less than 24 hours if it wanted to."
He went on to say that in Sinai the agreement's conditions "serve to turn
Egypt into a prisoner while elevating Israel to the role of prison warden."
"Sharm el-Sheikh, for example, in Area A, cannot receive air traffic without
prior Israeli consent," Kandil said. "This means that if President Mubarak
came under threat while in Sharm - even a domestic threat - Egyptian
authorities would have to receive Israel's permission before entering the area
to come to his aid."
Mazloum, howver, says the peace agreement's terms have no adverse effect
on Egypt's defensive capacity.
"The numbers now deployed along the border are sufficient to meet with any
military attack or aggression," he said. "Besides, modern warfare - which
relies largely on air power - has drastically reduced dependence on ground
forces."
According to Mazloum, Egypt's recent requests for additional border
deployments were not made for defensive purposes, but to thwart an
"Israeli-U.S. plan" to permanently resettle Palestinians of the Gaza Strip in
the Sinai Peninsula.
"Egypt asked for more troops at the border to avert the implementation of
this longstanding objective," he said. "The requested increase was to prevent
a sudden influx of Palestinians into Sinai, as happened last year."
In January 2008, an estimated half million Palestinians flocked into northern
Sinai from the besieged Gaza Strip in order to stock up on essential supplies
following the partial destruction of the border fence. The frontier was re-
sealed ten days later amid limited clashes between Palestinians and Egyptian
authorities.
On Mar. 30, a Cairo court is reportedly scheduled to hear a lawsuit raised by
independent MP Mohamed Al-Omda calling for suspension of the Camp
David agreement. Kandil, however, doubts the court will rule to shelve - or
even amend - the peace accord, despite its broad unpopularity.
"I don't think the court will rule against the treaty," said Kandil. "And even if
it does, the government won't implement the ruling because the government
never implements policies that might negatively affect its relationship with
Israel.
"In the meantime, though, the opposition will step up calls for a popular
referendum - held under international supervision - on whether or not to
renew Camp David," he added. "If such a vote were ever taken, I'm sure this
odious agreement would be soundly rejected by the people."
(END/2009)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
What is RSS?
