More Image, Less Substance Arab News 28 July 2003

Opinion, July 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

More Image, Less Substance

ArabNews 28 July 2003

Tomorrow will be Ariel Sharon’s turn to press his case with President Bush as his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, did on Friday. When all has been said, it will then be interesting to see where Bush’s sympathies really lie. If he is fair, Bush will be more understanding of the Palestinian position. Although at their press conference, Bush more than once mentioned terrorism, the truth is that Abbas has succeeded in persuading Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups to agree to a cease-fire which is still holding. Though some activists have ignored the truce, there has been a dramatic reduction in violence which has been a key Israeli and American demand. Thus Abbas has done his part; now it is Sharon’s turn.

The situation on the ground is now clearly a stalemate with Israel unwilling to pull out of territories occupied after the outbreak of the intifada — which it must do according to the road map’s first phase. After pulling troops from Gaza and Bethlehem a month ago following intense US pressure, Israel has delayed further pullouts, has stalled on the release of Palestinian prisoners and has allowed the continued construction of settlements. Several villages near Ramallah, Hebron and Jerusalem have had land confiscated for continued settlement expansion. And what looks like dismantling is often a farce. Eight empty outposts were dismantled in a blaze of publicity and then a dozen new ones established.

Sharon has also failed to relax security cordons in the occupied territories. As part of the cease-fire deal earlier this month, Israel handed control of Bethlehem and parts of Gaza to the Palestinian police. But these and other areas are still ringed by Israeli roadblocks. Then there is what is called “the Satanic Wall.” The fence is biting great chunks from the West Bank and annexing them to Israel — thereby unilaterally determining its future borders with an independent Palestine.

What Sharon appears to want is a protracted interim agreement during which Israel will make minimal concessions to the Palestinians. His reluctance to implement the road map suggests that he will not act unless forced by American pressure. But few commentators expect much in the way of results from his meeting in Washington. Is Bush — whose administration faces growing problems in Iraq and is preparing for an election whose outcome is by no means certain — in any position to pressure Sharon into faithful implementation? One need not wait until tomorrow for the answer.

The point of Bush’s meetings with both leaders appears less to shore up the road map than to underline his continued involvement in the peace process. The most that can be expected from these talks is therefore more image and less substance.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).