As, following the death of Yasser Arafat, world politicians and diplomats begin an intricate pattern of consultations and negotiations, it must be hoped that their efforts represent a new faint light on the Middle Eastern horizon. The procession of world leaders is impressive. First came US Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose imminent departure from office did not undermine his mission as at first feared. At Sharm El-Sheikh the next day, the talks on Palestine Powell had with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana were more important than their discussions about Iraq. There is currently far more the international community can do to influence the future of Palestine than Iraq. Lavrov went on from Egypt for his own visits with the Palestinians and Israelis. Now British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is concluding his two-day visit to the region and he is due to be followed soon by German and Spanish foreign ministers.
So far this fervor of visits has thankfully produced no grandstanding by any participant. Though individual Zionists have been muttering, the Israeli government as a whole has been staying away from gesture politics. The road map to peace is once again being spoken of as if the unilateral US endorsement of Sharon’s Gaza pullout, which seemed to effectively trash the road map, had never happened. Israel’s agreement to permit the free movement of Palestinian voters for next year’s election of a new president is being hailed as entirely positive, not as proof of the vice-like grip it has upon life in the Occupied Territories.
The only off-key moment so far has come from the EU, where Solana has been forced into an unedifying damage-limitation exercise, after apparently admitting that he has had direct contact with representatives of Hamas, which is proscribed in Europe as a terrorist organization. However even this has had its benefits because the EU foreign policy chief’s supporters have been able to argue that whatever anyone thinks of Hamas and the other Palestinian militant groups, they and the constituencies they represent must be included in any negotiations that will lead to peace. No EU government is calling for Solana’s scalp. Indeed many will be quietly grateful that he opened a channel to Hamas before there was a clear advantage in doing so.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Nov. 12 Washington visit after George Bush’s re-election now looks to have been of greater importance than many assumed. The death of Arafat caused the two leaders’ protests about seeking a Mideast settlement to suddenly appear much more than mere brave words. A just and honorable Palestinian settlement would not only ease their troubles in Iraq but could earn both men their place in history. What is more important is that they are clearly not alone in sensing the new opportunity for settlement.
The speed with which events are now moving tempts the hope that it will be surprising if nothing positive comes from these days.
