By Raghida Dergham
The next few weeks require influential Arab countries to play a
leading role on the Palestinian front. They should forge a clear
stance offering outright support for Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas and sending a message to Hamas that it will be out of
the Arab fold as long as it rejects the Arab Peace Initiative
proposed at the 2002 Beirut summit.
In parallel, the Arabs need to allocate large sums of money to
Palestine if Hamas endorses the initiative without reservation and
backs the Palestinian national dialogue by mutating from a
liberation movement into a responsible authority that renounces
violence and honors negotiations and previous agreements.
United States President George W. Bush began his presidency with a
"vision" based on a two-state solution that he was eager to achieve.
But he was soon compelled to draw back after having stressed the
need to end the occupation following the 1967 borders. The latest
retreat made by Bush came in addressing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert's plan, based on a unilateral demarcation of the
Israeli-Palestinian border. Instead of describing Olmert's proposals
as "bold," Bush should have exclusively endorsed the "road map" plan
and his vision of the two parties' agreement via negotiations over
the final status of the Occupied Territories.
He should have told the Israeli prime minister that the US expects
him, in the case he is compelled to implement a unilateral
withdrawal from the West Bank, to start immediate negotiations with
Abbas, over the final status of the occupied Palestinian
territories.
Olmert's speech before the joint session of the Senate and the House
of Representatives, during which he received 18 standing ovations,
was not bad. He said that the Palestinians have a right to freedom
and national aspirations, like Israel, and explained: "Our deepest
wish is to build a better future for our region, hand in hand with a
Palestinian partner, but if not, we will move forward, but not
alone," referring to the US.
Olmert has a chance to prove his goodwill during his upcoming
meeting with Abbas. This meeting was arranged when the PA president
met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Sharm al-Sheikh on
the margins of the World Economic Forum. Abbas announced at the WEF
that he was authorized to negotiate in the name of the PNA and that
he was ready to enter into negotiations as the legitimate partner of
Israel.
What Olmert should do after meeting with Abbas is to declare,
without reservations or conditions, that Abbas is the Palestinian
partner in these negotiations. Hamas' approval of Abbas' proposal to
set up a national strategic committee to help him in the
negotiations is a very good development. It coincides with
confirmations from PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahhar that his
government is about to "crystallize a clear-cut stance as far as the
Arab peace initiative is concerned."
Egypt is working with other active Arab countries to convince Hamas
to adopt the Arab initiative, which commits to the recognition of
Israel in return for its withdrawal to the 1967 borders and to
reaching a fair solution to the refugee issue.
Talk about Hamas' conditional acceptance or half-approval of the
Arab initiative will not do. Key Arab countries should promote it in
Arab circles, the region and at the international level within the
framework of a well-planned campaign to highlight its positive
aspects. They must take quick action to guarantee the continued
commitment of the Bush administration, as there is a current
American campaign focusing on the failure of Arab efforts to
persuade Hamas to adopt the Arab initiative due to the peace
proposal's emphasis on the 1967 borders. The last hope for a
two-state solution on the basis of negotiations is now, and it
depends on how effectively Abbas can drum up regional and
international support.
Hamas has not clearly stated its acceptance of the Arab peace
initiative, using deliberate ambiguity when discussing it. But a
clear acceptance is vital for the Palestinian people. The Arab role
must be active, clear and daring in linking economic assistance to
Hamas' attitude toward the Arab initiative. Moreover, Arab countries
must follow through with concrete measures and assistance, not make
empty promises.
Members of the "Quartet," which comprises the US, the European
Union, the United Nations and Russia, should activate as soon as
possible the "mechanism" it had approved during its meeting in New
York to offer assistance to the Palestinians over stages and on a
temporary basis, pending a clear Palestinian decision about Hamas'
attitudes.
It is also necessary to inform Olmert that the six- to nine-month
period (as he told Israel Radio) for finding a "Palestinian
partner," before he proceeds with his plan to unilaterally impose
border demarcation, is not needed, because the Palestinian partner
is as clear as the sun. The Quartet insinuated in a statement issued
in New York weeks ago that Abbas was the partner, but it was a
tentative allusion that should have been stronger and clearer to
prove the committee's determination to render the road map a success
until two states are established through negotiations.
The Quartet should be aware of Israel's need for a Palestinian
partner, even if it decides to unilaterally impose borders in the
West Bank. Had it not been for Egypt's help in the disengagement
from Gaza, Israel would never have succeeded in its unilateral
pullout from the Strip.
It is true that Olmert is proceeding in the most daring manner to
strip Israel of the "Greater Israel" dream, a process started by his
predecessor, Ariel Sharon. But he should have the courage to admit
that he already has a Palestinian partner, and that the logical
solution lies in borders as close to the 1967 borders as possible,
negotiated in final-status talks, including the thorniest, most
complicated issue of Jerusalem.
