The Truce And Israel's Deception

Maher Othman     Al-Hayat     2003/07/29

Had it not been for the truce that the Palestinian factions agreed upon, Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) would not have been able to convince President Bush and the U.S. Congress of the Palestinians' seriousness in seeking peace with Israel, in accordance with the Roadmap. And had it not been for Abbas' ability to convince the factions of the need to reach a ceasefire, if only for three months, in order to give the Quartet a chance for the Roadmap and to test the intentions of Sharon's government, the Palestinian factions would have pursued the armed Intifada and the violent struggle, with all the human losses involved for both sides.

As far as both sides' concessions, the Palestinians have agreed to guarantee security and calm for the Israelis not only within the Green Line, but also throughout the West Bank and Gaza, including the settlements. On the other hand, Israel has made no matching commitment, and it did not commit to carry out any measures according to a specific timetable that could motivate the Palestinians to maintain the truce.

It is clear that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is meeting with President Bush today, is intent on deceiving his ally and on misleading the American public opinion more than he intends to achieve a permanent peace with the Palestinian people. Israeli sources revealed yesterday that on the eve of his visit to Washington, he ordered the postponement of celebrations for the completion of the first stage of the separation wall, which takes up large areas of the West Bank, of which 128 kms have already been completed, including 21 kms that isolate Jerusalem from the West Bank, until after his visit so as to avoid the negative repercussions of this celebration on completing the wall. The sources said that Sharon has reassured the Likud ministers that the wall will be finished and that its direction will not be changed, despite the declaration by the U.S. ambassador in Tel Aviv that Washington does not object to the wall, but only to its direction. Moreover, the Knesset just approved the spending of $170 million to complete the wall, thus reflecting Israel's determination to build the wall, which was described by President Bush as a "problem."

In an interview with Al-Hayat, Abbas saw that the criterion of success or failure of his visit to Washington is the results. He included among them the release of the prisoners, freezing the building of settlements, removing the blockades and stopping the building of the separation wall.

But if instead, the Palestinians only see a determined effort to violate the Al Aqsa Mosque and expand the settlement activity, as the wall continues to be built and the release of prisoners continues to be delayed, there will be a strong feeling of frustration, and, according to Abbas, the situation "could become serious." Abbas did well in explaining the Palestinian view to the American president. Hopefully, Sharon will not be able to deceive him and his two-state vision, Palestine alongside Israel.