The judgment is still out on Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). There are some Palestine-Israel watchers who believe he is America’s man on the lines of Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai or Iraq’s Iyad Allawi. Others are convinced he is the Palestinians’ best hope for peace and the establishment of a state. I prefer to wait and see, but in the meantime, I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Sure, he diplomatically refrains from referring to Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza as the “occupation” it actually is, and apart from the build-up to his election, his rhetoric tends to be low key but, perhaps, his softly-softly pragmatic approach is just what’s needed.
Look what’s been achieved since Abbas took the helm. That old warhorse Ariel Sharon has actually been received in Egypt, where he posed for an historic handshake with his Palestinian counterpart. That didn’t go down too well with Egyptian students, admittedly, and given Sharon’s bloody past, it’s understandable, but then again, they are not the ones facing checkpoints, curfews, tanks and apache gun-ships.
Mahmoud Abbas was voted in with a mandate to forge peace and as has been so often pointed out, one can only make peace with one’s foes. Even so, I do think Abu Mazen’s acceptance of a visit to Sharon’s ranch was a bit premature.
Critics of the Sharm El-Sheikh conference say the “hudna” or cease-fire was not put in writing, but so what if it had been. The amount of pieces of paper that have been torn into shreds in the region could fill a mansion. What really counts is the deep down intentions of both sides and how much they are prepared to sacrifice to achieve their goals.
Critics might question, too, just why Sharon has had a change of heart. Ever since he took office four years ago, discussing the idea of a Palestinian state was the farthest thing from his mind. Instead, he regularly put insurmountable obstacles before return to the peace table, such as ‘x’ number of months without violence and seemed to enjoy demonizing his nemesis Yasser Arafat.
Four years ago the mood of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples was different. Both sides were disappointed and frustrated at the breakdown of Oslo, feelings, which later turned to anger. They had been so near and yet so far, and now they were back at square one.
More than 3,000 Palestinians and 1,500 Israelis have lost their lives, while many more have been maimed during the conflict. Both peoples are tired. Palestinians are exhausted from endless struggle and a decimated economy, while most Israelis are sick of being considered the “brutal occupier” as well as having to fend off international brickbats over their apartheid wall. As Sharon said at Sharm, Israel never wants to be an occupier again.
But however well intentioned Abu Mazen and a reformed Ariel Sharon may be this time around, they both have their own extremists with which to contend.
At the time of writing, Abbas seems to have a handle on his side of the cease-fire bargain. He has said in public that the war between Palestinians and Israelis is effectively over and announced the commitment to the hudna of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Furthermore, the Palestinian leader has sacked nine security chiefs and their deputies for failing to foil rocket attacks on Israelis.
For his part, Sharon is committed to releasing Palestinian prisoners “without blood on their hands” and has returned the bodies of 15 militants. At the same time several hundred Palestinian workers have been allowed to return to their jobs within Israel proper. Further, some 56 deported Palestinians have been given the green light to return to their West Bank homes.
There’s more. Palestinian and Israeli generals have met to discuss the handover of the West Bank town of Jericho into Palestinian control with Tul-Karm and Qalqilyah slated to follow.
Sounds a comparatively rosy scenario, doesn’t it? But hold your horses. An unforeseen crisis is unfolding. Jewish extremists angered over the Israeli government’s plans to withdraw permanently from Gaza are threatening the lives of Israeli Cabinet ministers, including Sharon himself.
The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot suggests attempts to assassinate Sharon are increasingly likely as the withdrawal nears...” Former hawkish prime minister and Israel’s current Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his tires slashed while attending a wedding, while the minister for education was targeted by extremists for verbal abuse. Another member of the Cabinet Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was the recipient of a letter, which read: You are “the epitome of evil, a miserable Iraqi, a Nazi with Arab Blood. You love Arabs more than Jews.”
There is no doubt that extremists are a scourge on the planet no matter what their religion or nationality. They are the ones who are preventing decent individuals everywhere from leading peaceful and prosperous lives. All of us who believe in peace can only pray that this time around, the moderates will win through against all odds.
