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Proposed U.S. Peace Conference Meant Only To Serve
Israel: Report
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| US-Summit(The world could not overlook Israeli crimes in Jenin) |
CAIRO,
May 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – After diverting world
attention from the still ongoing Israeli aggression on the
Palestinian people, taking the peace process back to square one, the
U.S. is now struggling to explain its concept of a Middle East peace
conference planned for the summer, with U.S. officials downplaying
expectations and even quibbling over how it should be described.
Although
backed by the "quartet" - the international diplomatic
grouping that includes the United States, the United Nations, the
European Union and Russia - the conference has no fixed agenda, no
venue, no set time and no list of participants, according to Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
U.S.
officials demurred when asked whether the talks were intended to
discuss just the Israeli-Palestinian question or the broader concept
of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace settlement.
"All
we can really tell you at this point, all the details that we think
are more or less settled, at least in our own minds, are that it
should be a meeting at Secretary Powell's level, ministerial level for
us," Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"It's too early, I think, at this point to try to explain exactly
the topics that will be discussed," he said, adding that the goal
is to "bring together ideas, create some momentum and chart out
how to go forward."
Analysts
in the Middle East dismissed the idea of the conference as ‘a U.S.
means of taking the world’s attention away from Israel’s war
crimes against the Palestinian people’.
“What
is the idea of holding another peace conference? The first one (Madrid
1991) yielded nothing so far. The Israeli governments respect no peace
agreements and the Americans know that. Bush intervened only to save
Sharon from facing new war crime charges in Jenin,” an Egyptian
analyst told IslamOnline, on condition of anonymity.
“If
Arabs fall for Bush-Sharon trick, this will buy Israel another decade
or two to get rid of the Palestinian people and to complete its
ongoing plan of ethnic cleansing,” he added.
Downplaying
expectations, or adding to the already prevailing atmosphere of
confusion, two senior State Department officials said there was
concern that press coverage of Powell's announcement raised
"grand expectations" that whatever was finally arranged
would be on the same level as the 1991 Madrid conference that launched
the Middle East peace process and led to the 1993 Oslo accord.
"We
don't want people to think of this as 'Madrid II'," one official
said. "This is a different sort of event."
The
desire to avoid any mental connections with the first Madrid
conference may also play a role in where the talks are held, officials
said.
The
initial concept for the conference was that it would be held somewhere
in Europe, possibly in June. Potential venues in the Middle East are
also under consideration, they said.
Switzerland,
a traditional site for international diplomacy, on Friday offered to
host the conference, but the officials said it was far too early to
speculate on where it might be held.
However,
one official said it almost certainly not be held in Madrid.
"It's not going to be a Madrid or Oslo type of meeting, so I
doubt they would choose Madrid for the obvious reason of
symbolism," one official said.
Meanwhile,
Egyptian Ambassador to Washington Nabil Fahmy warned that Arab
governments were unwilling to engage in "negotiations about
negotiations again." He said, "If the conference is a useful
tool, it is something people will all gather around. If we go back to
focusing on procedure rather than solutions, it will not fulfill its
expectations and get their support."
Designating
which international resolutions and agreements will serve as the
baseline for these new talks is crucial. Powell cited the significance
of U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for the exchange of land
occupied by Israel for peace and of a Saudi proposal, adopted two
months ago by the Arab League, offering Israel normal relations with
Arab countries if it withdraws from territory occupied in the 1967
war.
With
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon scheduled to visit the White House
on Tuesday, U.S. officials are exploring what kind of agreement they
want the conference to advance, according to The Washington Post.
For
his part, Sharon promised to present President Bush with a detailed
plan for an interim arrangement with the Palestinians.
U.S.
officials are considering ways to bridge Sharon's contention that he
is not prepared to sign a permanent deal with the Arabs' position that
there must be a final agreement resolving all outstanding differences.
However,
while U.S. allies in Europe and the Arab world expressed relief that
Washington is taking a stronger hand, Arab diplomats said many
questions remained about the agenda of the conference and its ultimate
purpose.
Motives
of Bush - under criticism from large sections of the
international community for not doing more to restrain Israel during
its military forays into West Bank cities – include anti-U.S.
feelings in the Arab world, which have never been stronger, according
to BBC’s online news service.
A
further motive relates to Iraq. Bush urgently needs the Middle East
conflict to come off the boil if the U.S. is to stand any chance of
winning the support of Egypt and the Gulf states for plans to use
military might to change the regime in Baghdad, BBC reported.
In
particular the criticism has come from America's friends in the Arab
world, where anti-U.S. feelings in the Arab world, which have never
been stronger.
This
fact was conveyed firmly to President Bush by Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah during their recent meeting in Crawford, Texas.
The
Crown Prince already presented his own peace initiative - which was
later adopted at an Arab summit in Beirut. The U.S. President clearly
saw an opportunity to work with the Saudi Crown Prince to arrange an
international conference.
In
this way he would be able to deflect criticism about his unwillingness
to deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict.
At
the same time, it would avoid the need to engage directly in the
dispute.
With
additional reporting by Khaled Mamdouh, IOL Cairo Staff Writer
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