MIDDLE EAST: Only good intent and commitment to roadmap will guarantee peace

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI, May 12 2003 (IPS) - Two major United Arab Emirates (UAE) English dailies today commented on the renewed efforts to bring peace to the Middle East through the so-called "roadmap". The papers said that only good intent and commitment to the content of the roadmap by all the stakeholders would make it successful.

Commenting on the issue under the topic – Show good intent", the Dubai-based ‘Gulf News’ said in part: ôWith the recent publication of the so-called roadmap – the combined talents of the ‘Quartet’, namely the UN, the US, the EU and Russia in trying to find a peace formula for the Middle East – it would be logical to assume that it was now ‘all systems go’ and that everlasting peace was only a short way off.

ôBut logic does not enter into such matters. For while the Palestinian National Authority has accepted in full the proposals outlined in the roadmap, the carefully considered crafting by the eminent powers is looked upon by the Israelis as merely a basis for negotiation. Not a final solution, but a document that can be altered to suit the bidding of the Zionist entity, obviously with the intent of ensuring a continued domination of the region.

ôIt is of course an insult being hurled by the Israeli government, not only at those who so earnestly contributed to formulating the roadmap, but also those who endorse its proposals. The Israeli government has prepared a long list of principle objections to the roadmap to present to the US administration, in the person of Secretary of State Colin Powell during his Middle East ‘rounds’ to garner support for the Quartet’s initiative. Chief among Israel’s objections is the right of return of Palestinians to those areas that will eventually form the officially recognized State of Palestine.

ôHowever, if Israel remains inflexible on this point – and it appears likely to be so – then it is difficult to imagine that any form of agreement will be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians, despite the best intentions and support of the Quartet. On the other hand, unless America can convince Israel of the necessity of giving way on this important issue, and other points significant to the Palestinians, then it will look as if the other three parties of the Quartet have been misled and wasting their time.

ôThe Palestinian National Authority has accepted the roadmap in its entirety and wants to proceed apace. However, what the Palestinians must be wary of, is in an attempt to achieve something, rather than nothing, that they once again give ground, or make concessions, which they can ill-afford to do.

ôIn the past, President Yasser Arafat has been ready to make compromises in an honest attempt to achieve peace and a final settlement for his people. All that happened was for Arafat to lose face in the eyes of many of his people, while Israel took advantage, and lives and land, of the situation, setting any discussions back further than before, thus giving way to increased unrest and violence from uncontrollable factions among the Palestinians, which resulted in recriminations and reprisals from the Israelis.

ôWith Powell now having talks between the prime ministers of both Israel and Palestine – deliberately ignoring Arafat and thereby causing greater animosity among the Palestinians – it is the best time for some serious talking to take place on all sides. But this time, America must insist on a greater commitment to peace being made by the Israeli government, not by mere words alone, but by actions and deeds. Anything less is merely playing for time and wasting time, effort – and lives," concluded the ‘Gulf News’.

Commenting on the issue under the topic ôCommitment to roadmap", the ‘Khaleej Times’ of Dubai also said in part: ôIn urging Israelis and Palestinians to begin implementing the ‘roadmap’ for peace – drawn up last December by the quartet of the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia – despite their major differences on certain aspects, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has stressed the imperative of building trust.

ôAs he set out to hold talks with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers yesterday, Powell must also have ruminated on the roadmap in the context of President George W. Bush’s pledge the previous day to create a US-Middle East free trade zone within 10 years as part of the peace process.

ôFor Palestinians, the perils of leaving detailed negotiations on vital aspects of a peace accord until later are painfully familiar. Postponement in the past has given Israel the opportunity to renege on commitments and renegotiate accords. For Palestinians, it has brought greater suffering and anguish. Despite the string of false starts, Palestinians view the roadmap as a promising way of breaking a political deadlock and easing the pains inflicted by Israeli reoccupation on Palestinian lives and economy.

ôIn some areas, such as the goal of creating a Palestinian state by 2005, the roadmap has broken new ground. In others, such as Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories and end of settlement activity, it puts a heavy premium on American even-handedness, a commodity that has always been in woefully short supply.

ôAt this stage, Washington has not been able to get Sharon’s commitment to the roadmap. Instead, the Israeli premier is creating new obstacles through evasions, prevarication and ultimatums. By demanding that Palestinian refugees formally abandon their right of return as a precondition for Israel’s acceptance of the roadmap, the Sharon government has provided a sordid display of the shallowness of its commitment to genuine reconciliation.

ôIsrael, moreover, continues to project Palestinian militancy as the sole obstacle to peace. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who has vowed to end the ‘chaos of arms’, needs the widest possible support in his endeavor to rein in attacks.

ôIsraeli officials, insisting that a ceasefire would be an insufficient demonstration of Palestinian earnestness, brazenly demand that Abbas either secure the surrender of militants’ weapons or crush them by force. Such reasoning is a clear impediment to the latest peace moves in that it contemptuously dismisses the reality that the Palestinians are the aggrieved party.

ôMoreover, it ignores how Israel’s systematic undermining of the Palestinian Authority’s infrastructure over the years has rendered it incapable of countering militancy. The only way Abbas could move towards ending armed attacks against Israel would be in exchange for such tangible gains as a withdrawal from Palestinian cities, an easing of Israeli closures and a freeze on settlements.

ôThe latest Israeli demands must be seen within the context of Sharon’s government campaign to amend the roadmap even before it was released last month after months of delay. Israel has been actively seeking to water down the provisions of the plan, primarily, two of its most significant elements: the pledge of a Palestinian statehood and a freeze on the construction of new Israeli settlements.

ôThe premier plans to hold another discussion in Washington over Israel’s 15 reservations before he submits the proposal to his government. Sharon’s posturing has fuelled concerns that he intends to drag his feet on the roadmap until campaigning for next year’s US presidential elections gather pace, in the hope that Bush’s political considerations would restrain the Americans from applying further pressure on Israel.

ôAfter maintaining a studied distance from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his first year in office, Bush has now pledged to devote his personal energy towards the success of the roadmap. In recent months, the President and his senior aides have been laying down grand visions of a post-Saddam Hussein Middle East. Greater efforts to bolster confidence in the foundations of Washington’s blueprint for peace and stability is what the region needs," said the ‘Khaleej Times’.