US President Bush is expected to outline his vision of what
peace in the Middle East could look like in a speech on
Tuesday or on Wednesday. According to press reports, United
States recently gave Israel and Egypt the main points of its
plan regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state.
According to an anonymous Egyptian official, U.S. President
George W. Bush will discuss the plan in a speech on
Wednesday. The official said that Egypt expected a "balanced"
speech, which will lead to a renewal of serious peace talks
between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Egyptian source said that Bush's speech would include two
main points: First, it will express the president's support
of an independent Palestinian state to be established in both
Areas A and B in the territories. Palestinians now have
complete civil and security control in Area A, while Israel
has security control in Area B. Bush will also say that the
new state will be officially recognized by the United
Nations, meaning that future negotiations would be held
between two countries.
The second point will refer to the convening of an
international peace conference at the end of the summer,
perhaps in September, on the sidelines of the annual UN
General Assembly. The conference will discuss UN resolutions
338, 242 and 1397, in addition to the Saudi peace proposal
adopted at the Arab League summit held in Beirut at the end
of March.
An Egyptian newspaper reported that Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak requested that Bush pass along a message from him to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expressing Egypt's opposition to
a military operation in the Gaza Strip. In the message
Mubarak warns that an IDF operation in Gaza might harm
Egypt's national security.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem security forces remained on alert on
Tuesday after a terrible bomb early in the morning murdered
18, most of them young high school students on their way to
school. The explosion took place around 8 A.M. near the Pat
Junction on Egged bus line 32A from Gilo.
An anonymous caller said that Hamas was behind the attack,
but a senior Israeli intelligence source said that it was
Tanzim in Bethlehem.
Prime Minister Sharon visited the site of the bombing. "The
horrible pictures we saw here today of these murderous acts
by the Palestinians are stronger than any words," he said.
"It is interesting (to wonder) what kind of Palestinian state
they intend to create. What are they talking about? This
terrible thing . . . is a continuation of the Palestinian
terror which we will fight against."
Later he convened a meeting of security officials to discuss
the bombing and Israel's response.
Work on 100 kilometers of a security fence in the north
proceeded as controversy swirled around it.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and defense minister
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer insist that the fence is for security
purposes only and has not political meaning.
However, right-wing Israelis are afraid that it will restore
the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Settler
leader Yisrael Harel charged that the fence was just a first
step in an impending Israeli withdrawal from the entire Judea
Samaria region.
One of the original arguments for settlements in Judea and
Samaria was that they would contribute to Israel's security.
But building the fence with many of the settlements on the
other side is an indication that the settlements contribute
little if anything to Israel's defense, at least against the
Palestinian threat.
On the contrary, the existence of the settlements beyond the
fence will force the army to allocate considerable resources
to defend them. As time goes by, the fence will become a
psychological fact of life, and public pressure to shorten
the lines and give up the settlements may grow.
The Palestinians also oppose the building of the fence: They
denounce it as a unilateral move that shows Israel is
preparing to perpetuate the "occupation" of land the
Palestinians claim.
Indeed, what concerns the Palestinians more than the fence is
the "fence mentality": If taken to its logical conclusion,
that mentality could lead to a separation not just between
the two peoples but between their economies.
The State Department chided Israel for the separation fence.
"To the extent that it is an attempt to establish a border,
we would have to say that really has to be done through
direct talks [with Palestinian officials]," State Department
Spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"We remind the Israelis that offering hope to Palestinians,
offering them a decent life, an end to the barriers, is an
important part of achieving security and peace," he added.
Through its spokesman Scott McClellan, the White House also
sought to distance itself from the decision to build the
fence. "Israel has a right to defend itself," the spokesman
said. "But all parties have to be aware of the consequences
of their actions."
To pre-empt a fence they don't want, Palestinians may be
prepared to be more conciliatory.
In a recent interview with the San Jose Mercury News,
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice had tough words
for both leaderships.
"The Palestinian Authority," she said, "is corrupt and
cavorts with terror," and therefore "is not the basis for a
Palestinian state moving forward."
As for the Israeli side, Rice warned that if Sharon doesn't
take the tough decisions necessary for peace, he could find
himself out of a job.
However, at the moment Sharon has a very high rating among
the Israeli people in all public opinion surveys.
