During all the years I have been observing the shocking and deteriorating conditions in Gaza — one of the most overcrowded places on the globe — it has been difficult, if not impossible, to find good news. There is some now and much of the credit for it goes, surprisingly, to an American. I write of Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state.
Israel has been commemorating the tenth anniversary of the assassination of the former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In Jerusalem for this event have been Sen. Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice. Both are regarded in America as possible US presidential Candidates in 2008.
Hillary Clinton has a shameful record on Arab-Israeli dispute even by the cynical standards of American politics. Becoming America’s first lady in 1993, she supported President Bill Clinton’s attempts at mediation between Palestinians and Israelis and showed some sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. As a diplomatic gesture she embraced Suha Arafat on one occasion. Hillary Clinton had trouble living down this embrace, while successfully winning her New York seat for the Democratic Party. She needs a substantial Jewish vote and has become a robust Zionist. She used her visit to Israel to tell her hosts that their wall was an anti-terrorist measure and not a move against the Palestinians.
Condoleezza Rice’s performance will have improved her standing even further within the Bush administration and with the American public. On her arrival in Jerusalem it seemed that any momentum gained through Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in the summer was fading, as a result of Palestinian-Israeli deadlock over the long-term future of Gaza. Mohammed Shtayyeh, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of public works was not expecting much from the secretary of state’s visit. Taking the opportunity provided by a ceremony at Yassir Arafat’s graveside, on the first anniversary of the former president’s death, he said: “This sort of shuttle diplomacy of Dr. Rice is welcome but it is not enough. We need direct engagement, someone to monitor the implementation of the road map.” Sensing the possibility of diplomatic progress, Condoleezza Rice did far more than monitor the implementation of the road map. She conducted talks through the night that led on to a surprise resolution of the problems over Gaza’s border. Taking only two hours out for some sleep, the secretary of state carried out what the Americans liked to call “hardball” diplomacy, during which both sides were persuaded to amend draft texts on their laptop computers, there and then in the small hours.
Speaking to a hastily arranged press conference, she produced words of good sense and encouragement for the Palestinians:
“Everybody recognizes that if the Palestinian people can move freely, if they can export agricultural products, if they can work, Gaza is going to be a much better place, and it is going to be a place where democracy can take hold.”
The word “everybody” was tactful. In fact there had been precious little evidence that Ariel Sharon had such recognition during his first years as prime minister of Israel. His ambitions then seemed to be to barricade them in and smash every square foot of Palestinian infrastructure. As a result today over half the population of Gaza is out of work and there is desperate poverty and hardship. Many in Gaza have become refugees more than once as their homes were destroyed by the Israelis. Until this agreement Gaza looked like one vast and horrendous prison camp.
I welcome in particular the international aspects of the deal. At the Rafah passenger crossing into Egypt, closed for most of Gaza’s 1.3 million Palestinians since September, television cameras will send live pictures to a joint control center staffed by European Union experts, Palestinians and Israelis. The more people from the European Union, and other international organizations, can get involved now, on a day-to-day basis, the greater the chances of further progress on the road map. Both the Palestinians and the Israelis need outside help to end the years of violence and despair.
For the beleaguered President Mahmoud Abbas, who faces Palestinian elections in eight weeks, increased movement for goods and people in and out of Gaza is of great importance. He must be able to demonstrate to his people that their lives can be significantly improved not through suicide bombers and bullets but by peaceful negotiations.
Construction of Gaza’s vital seaport can now begin. On Dec. 15 Israeli-escorted passenger bus convoys start between Gaza and the West Bank. Goods convoys between Gaza and the West Bank are due to start on Jan. 15. These are stepping-stones for progress — even though each one does not look that big or that important. Making peace and improving the conditions of the people concerned is what international diplomacy, with its pomp and ceremony, is really all about.
