British Prime Minister Tony Blair somehow found time on the day of his big and well received speech to the Labour Party Conference on Sept. 27, to have a working meeting with Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The subject under discussion was the rebuilding of Gaza.
On March 1 there was an important conference in London to give thought to what could and should be done to assist the Palestinians. It was a genuine and positive initiative by the United Kingdom, which well understood the Palestine Authority had to be transformed, and quickly, into a responsible and reliable partner for peace. It was recognized that the authority had first to regain the respect and backing of the Palestinians themselves, who had been deeply shocked by its deplorable lack of honest accounting and corruption in high places.
At the time this conference — it was renamed the London Meeting — came under fire from the media because Israel could not be bothered to attend. However, 30 countries, many from the Arab world, and international organizations were present. Condoleezza Rice took the trouble to fly over for it in her new capacity as US secretary of sate. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, made a significant contribution. The Palestinian contingent left London claiming that £624m had been pledged by donors. The international community agreed to assist with the rebuilding of Gaza and with better links between the West Bank and Gaza. Tony Blair told those present that they had put in place “the foundation stones” of a Palestinian state.
Shimon Peres has been given responsibility for organizing Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and its aftermath. Although his country has spent much time, money and effort over the last five years in smashing up Gaza, its people and its infrastructure, he now believes the reconstruction of Gaza is too slow:
“All problems are immediate, all solutions are slow. It is in the gap that you create disbelief and doubt. When you are hungry for a piece of bread, you are hungry every morning.” This was eloquent, but I, for one, know and remember why the people of Gaza are hungry. If the withdrawal from Gaza had not been unilateral and carried out for the benefit of Israel first and foremost, reconstruction might have moved at a quicker pace. Shimon Peres reminded the press that his country remained committed to opening up Gaza to the outside world.
The UK currently holds the presidency of the G-8 and the EU, which puts it in an unusually strong diplomatic position and is delighted to be playing the leading role in putting together a well considered timetable for Gaza’s redevelopment. At the G-8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, £6 billion was pledged over three years for Gaza.
I am sure the British Foreign Office is 100 percent correct, when it demands early and substantial economic development for the Palestinians as the best way of giving encouragement to the moderates in their fractured society. Overdue Parliamentary elections are fixed for January and without doubt militant Islamic groups will advance their political positions. Hamas is expected to become the leading political party in Gaza. Rightly or wrongly, it is credited by the Palestinians with persuading the Israeli the time had come to get out of Gaza. It is also admired for its apparent lack of corruption and successful welfare programs.
On Sept. 23 the Middle East was reminded just how bad Palestine-Israel relations remain. There was an explosion at a Hamas rally in Jabalya which killed some 17 people. Hamas at once claimed Israel was responsible. But the Palestinian Authority denied this, and suggested what many at the rally believed to be true. The explosion was due to an accident involving Hamas rockets which were being displayed. Hamas responded the rockets at the rally were dummy rockets, and together with Islamic Jihad fired dozens of Kassam missiles into the Israeli border town of Sderot which injured five people. Israel then carried out a number of air strikes which killed four Hamas militants and damaged a school. The Israeli Cabinet decided to resume assassinations of suspected militants which had been suspended after a truce in February.
Both Sharon and President Mahmoud Abbas face early elections, and thus have a joint interest in safeguarding Israel’s security and in speeding up Gaza’s economic recovery. The United Kingdom is determined to play its full and vigorous part in helping with the future of Gaza.
