Need for a Mideast mediator

by George S. Hishmeh

It must have all sounded like music to Condoleezza Rice, herself an accomplished pianist, as she went on her fence-mending, maiden trip to some European and Middle Eastern capitals within days of being confirmed as secretary of state.

Her well-choreographed tour and impressive performance in several capitals where anti-America feelings have been on the rise was initially well received by several among her audiences.

In an address at a prestigious French University in Paris, she underlined her theme, "it is time to turn away from the disagreements of the past" that alienated long-time allies over the US invasion of Iraq.

In the Middle East, she was equally effusive and upbeat. "This is the most promising moment of progress between Palestinians and Israelis in recent years."

But the secretary, the first African-American woman to hold this high post, was non-committal about the next steps in the two regions. In Europe, she did not offer an "exit strategy" for the 150,000 American troops there, and in the Middle East, she was primarily focused on the Israeli concerns, namely security issues. This was evident in her decision to name an American security coordinator, Lt. Gen. William E. Ward, who will be responsible for helping the Palestinians to reform their dozen security forces, as well as monitor the security relationship between the two parties.

"I do believe it's most important that the Israelis and the Palestinians have security cooperation that is bilateral, that is strong, that is robust, that is dealing with most of the problems."

In other words, she did not address the Palestinians' political concerns: the end of the occupation, the building of the "separation wall" or the future of Jerusalem, some of the issues that are bound to help the newly elected President, Mahmoud Abbas, in his uphill bid to rein in extremists like, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Nothing better illustrated the volatility of these issues for the Palestinians than a Washington Post investigation which, surprisingly, was not carried on the paper's front page. It exposed a sinister plan supported by the Israeli government and private Jewish groups aimed at building "a human cordon" around Jerusalem's Arab-dominated Old City. The paper said Jewish residents are being moved into Arab neighbourhoods "to consolidate their grip on strategic locations ... to link them to form a ring around the city, a key battleground in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict". The two sides claim the Holy City as their capital.

On the other hand, Rice pledged that the Bush administration "is determined to do all that we can to take advantage of this moment of opportunity (in the Middle East) in the weeks and months ahead". In her many interviews with the Israeli media (the same treatment was regrettably not offered to the Palestinian media), she carefully touched on Israeli policies that have angered Palestinians and other Arabs but she appeared restrained. And her absence from the Sharm El Sheikh summit, that was held on the day she left the Middle East and was attended by King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, raised many an eyebrow.

Some commentators were led to believe that this was an accommodation to Sharon who wanted to avoid public American pressure. But Rice's barbs were nevertheless clear in this Israeli television interview: "We have been very clear that we would expect our friends in Israel to do nothing that would somehow prejudge the outcome of a final status agreement in terms of territory, that this is something that really must be negotiated with the Palestinians.

"We believe very strongly that the Palestinians want peace, we believe that the Israelis want peace. It is our job and responsibility as friends of peace to try and bring the parties together back on to the roadmap in time so that we can move forward the president's vision of two states living side by side. But it requires fundamental steps by both sides, and we are counting on those fundamental steps to make certain that we make progress this time."

Aluf Benn of Haaretz said there is concern in Israel that "an American mediator will assist Abbas beyond the level at which Sharon is comfortable with, and by this weaken the Israeli position".

For the first time, a Palestinian-American, Dr Ziad Asali , president of the American Task Force on Palestine, was scheduled to testify on Feb. 10 alongside former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Mideast special envoy Dennis Ross at the House Committee on International Relations on "The Way Forward in the Middle East Peace Process".

Asali plans to remind the congressmen that whereas the Palestinian people have created their democracy, "they must have their freedom (since) they have lived under the longest military occupation of modern times". He will urge the congressmen to give the Bush administration their support. And the sooner Rice, who is bound to be very busy in putting down other global fires that have been neglected, names a special envoy for the Middle East the sooner the ball starts rolling. Time here is of essence.

This article was published in the Friday-Saturday, February 11-12, 2005 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.