The international media presented Israel’s pullout from Gaza Strip as though it was an act of unprecedented magnanimity. But no shrewd observer could fail to notice the Israeli premier’s lack of sincerity in his withdrawal plans. The move was nothing but a ploy to gain political mileage after it was quite clear to the world that he was not at all committed to the American-brokered “road map” for the Middle East peace. It did not take several days after the pullout to uncover Ariel Sharon’s deception and hypocrisy and to realize that he was a man whose words could never be trusted.
Sharon is not at all serious about peace with Palestinians. What else is the explanation for closing the Bayt Hanun crossing without giving any date for its reopening just three days after the Palestine-Israel agreement to open the crossing points between Gaza and the outside world, particularly the Rafah crossing on Nov. 19? The entire Gaza region would be cut off from the rest of the region if the Bayt Hanun is not open. Sharon’s only aim is to mount economic pressure on the Palestinian people by denying them their only opportunity to work and earn their livelihood apart from isolating them from the outside world. Sharon had devised schemes to evict Palestinians and expand the West Bank settlements under the cover of favorable world opinion generated by the army pullout.
A few days after the pullout tenders were invited for the expansion of the settlements in the West Bank, particularly at the Ma’aleh Adumim in the East Jerusalem with the apparent aim of driving out the Palestinians from there. Completing the chain of Jewish settlements surrounding the holy city was another aim. Meanwhile, the Israeli Housing Ministry invited tenders for the infrastructure construction in the Ariel settlement close to the Nablus city in the West Bank. This move also would expand the Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories. These and several other moves signify that Sharon has scuttled the “road map.”
Of course, Sharon could not take such a decision without the support of President George Bush who has seemingly forgotten his promise to the world that he would establish an independent Palestinian state in 2005. The president’s support to Sharon, undoubtedly, amounts to the approval of Israel’s shameless violations of all international laws and norms. This is the situation that makes Arabs view Sharon as a man whose words cannot be trusted. However, it is not the Arabs alone that mistrust the Israeli leaders. The Europeans have also expressed their lack of trust in Sharon’s words and promises. The European mistrust of Israel became clear when NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in Vienna recently that the Atlantic organization would not directly participate in the Arab-Israeli conflict or suggest any particular solution. The NATO chief is making this statement after reviewing the organization’s success in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Darfur.
Nobody would say that he was compelled to make such a statement because of Arab intransigence; Arabs have never violated any terms of an agreement signed under international mediation.
On the contrary Israel has been notorious for its violations. Though the US has been accused of making NATO a cover to establish its supremacy over the world the European members of the organization have been careful not to walk into the US trap. That is why Britain was the only major European power to help the US in fighting the Iraq war. On the other hand, the Europeans have condemned the aggression.
The whole world finds Sharon a liar and untrustworthy. But the American administration controlled by the right extremists knows that the continuation of tension in the Middle East serves the strategic and economic interests of both the United States and Israel.
