Opinion, May 24, 2003, Al-Jazeerah.info

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Will Sharon scrap the roadmap,

By Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Gulf News Editor-in-Chief  | 24-05-2003


The U.S. is seeking the impossible by asking Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to fight terrorism – because if he does, it will be perceived as if he is fighting himself.

Palestinian terrorism, as it is described by the Americans, is in fact, an armed resistance of military wings of groups such as Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and even Fatah, of which Abbas is a member.

Yet, the Americans have not made the same demand on Israel, as they apparently do not consider its brutality against Palestinian civilians as terrorism.

If they insist on such a demand, the Americans will not only undermine the roadmap, but will also abort any effort by the new Palestinian Prime Minister.

Abbas cannot fight Palestinian groups which are resisting the occupation because this could trigger internal fighting and civil strife which might be a common Israeli-American goal.

We do believe Abbas will not be able to achieve that goal. His political wisdom, reputation and his national role will make him resist such a task. Besides, the Palestinians see internal fighting as a red line which must not be crossed.

Of course, the U.S. will not make the same demand on Israel because the parties which are involved in violence in Israel are not resistance groups or militias, but the state itself - from its top leader Sharon to its armed colonising gangs.

In such a situation, what can Abbas do? His only option is to call for a ceasefire. He can propose that the Palestinians stop violence for a certain period in return for a decision by Israel to halt violence, including political assassinations, destruction of houses, storming of Palestinian camps and burning of orchards.

Israel, however, is unlikely to accept such a proposal, as it insists that security must precede peace, unlike the Palestinians who see peace as a priority because they have never felt secure with the occupation.

Israel will also not stop its violence against the Palestinians because it keeps claiming that it wants to protect its people and counter hostile attacks.

Israel realises that the only way to stop violence is to withdraw from the occupied Arab territories. By doing so, there will be no excuse for the Palestinians to launch suicide operations against the Israelis, and this will automatically bring about security and stability to Israel.

Occupation of Palestinian lands will never bring security to Israel.

It has become clear that security can be achieved by Israel not by Abbas or Yasser Arafat, who has been excluded from negotiations. Making a demand on Abbas to end the violence is to ask for the impossible - such a demand is unrealistic and illogical.

The roadmap could be doomed to failure if the U.S. and its ally Israel insist on their demands. They also could finish Abbas politically as they did with Arafat, and this will only undermine the U.S. peace plan and put the region back on the road to war and violence.

If the aim of the roadmap is to resume negotiations and re-start a real peace process, Washington must revise its conditions. Otherwise, it is putting pressure solely on the Palestinian side and making impossible demands just to eliminate the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

As we see it, the roadmap gives priority on demanding that the Palestinians fight terrorism. This reminds us of the U.S. anti-terror campaign and its lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as an excuse not only to topple the regime, but to occupy that country.

Sharon will soon be visiting Washington, not to push for the roadmap, but to undermine it. He will also seek help for his plan to eliminate Arafat and expel other Palestinian leaders including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdul Aziz Al Rantisi. Such a plan aims to destroy the Palestinian cause and force the remaining Palestinian leaders to kneel and bow to Israel's demands.

If Washington is really sincere in pushing forward the peace process in the Middle East, it must ask Sharon to begin withdrawing his troops in line with the roadmap. Israel must implement this plan in accordance with what a senior U.S. official has said: "The roadmap is there to be implemented not to be discussed."

But how can this plan be enforced? Both sides have to make concessions. The Palestinians have already made a lot of concessions beginning with dismantling most of their military wings to recognising Israel's right to exist, acceptance of the land occupied in 1967 and exclusion of Arafat from negotiations.

It is Israel's turn now to make concessions. Ending the occupation and halting state violence against Palestinians must be on top of such concessions. Without these, the roadmap becomes pointless and the statement by that U.S. official becomes void and meaningless.

When they meet in Washington shortly, we wonder whether U.S. President George W. Bush will be frank with Sharon about such concessions. If he fails to do so, then Sharon will be in a position to scrap the roadmap and keep the occupied lands.

He will then proceed to fulfil his dream of destroying the Palestinian people and kicking them out of their own lands as part of Israeli extremists' agenda. Let us wait and see.

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