US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is once more in the Middle East, notably as Israel’s planned pullout from Gaza and parts of the West Bank draws near. While an Israeli pullout from any occupied Arab land is cause for celebration, the August withdrawal from Gaza has a number of people worrying about a number of things. The Gaza plan has led to fears that Israeli settlers could put up a fight or that militants opposed to peace might use violence to disrupt their departure. Also, it is not clear that Palestinians can ensure security and fill the vacuum Israel will leave behind after 38 years. The picture is also hazy as to whether Ariel Sharon will perceive Gaza as the first step in the eventual withdrawal from all occupied lands or as the first and only withdrawal the Palestinians will ever see.
On her second trip to the region, Rice has not had the time or the inclination to go into details. There was no agreement on the Gaza border crossings, the safe passage linking Gaza to the West Bank and a reopening of the Gaza sea and air ports. Rice would only touch on unresolved issues, including Palestinian freedom of movement and access to different parts of the territories after the Israeli withdrawal; the status of settler properties; security, and the problems of Israel building new settlements as the Gaza pullout date approaches. The only thing of substance to come out of her visit was the agreement she announced — that Jewish settler houses in the Gaza Strip will be destroyed as part of Israel’s pullout from the area. The parties’ cooperation depends largely on the four-month-old truce that has been holding up, thanks mainly to the Palestinians. There have been no suicide attacks in Israel since the cease-fire in February. During the same period, however, the Israeli army has killed 38 Palestinians, wounded 400 and arrested 500.
Naturally, in such an unequal situation, Palestinian patience is wearing thin. Consequently, Mahmoud Abbas has tried to keep Hamas on board. PA Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa expressed what Hamas had long wanted to hear — that while the Palestinian leadership is committed to stopping attacks on Israeli ctizens, it is the Palestinian people’s right to defend themselves. Also on the day Rice met Abbas, the Palestinian parliament passed a compromise, paving the way for new legislative elections — and cooling Hamas tempers. Parliamentary elections had been scheduled for July, but earlier this month they were postponed indefinitely by Abbas because of a dispute over how candidates would be selected. Under the new law, half the members of Parliament will be chosen by districts and half from party lists. The decision to postpone the elections was strongly criticised by Hamas which believed it would do well, perhaps even overthrow Fatah. The new law means the group can criticize no more.
Such appeasement, however, can only go so far. There were pledges made at Sharm El-Sheikh which have not been kept: Further Israeli redeployments from West Bank cities, prisoner releases, the return of Palestinian exiles, an end to settlement expansion, house demolitions, and ending roadblocks. Rice’s visit will solve none of these. Instead, she relied on wide brush strokes to paint a picture of a smooth Gaza transition. The Palestinians and Israelis were left to deal with the details and the specifics for another day altogether.
