HOPES FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE

This week’s meeting at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas must be welcomed by those who genuinely wish to see an end to the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians that has caused so much bloodshed in the Middle East. It was an attempt by both sides to break the four-year cycle of violence and death and get peace talks back on the road. Sharon and Abbas met face-to-face on Tuesday and shook hands across the table, a moment captured by the world’s media. Afterwards, both leaders pledged to begin the process towards achieving peace: Abbas and Sharon agreeing to halt all violent actions everywhere against Israelis and Palestinians

As Abbas put it: “A new opportunity for peace is born today in the city of peace. Let’s pledge to protect it.” That all concerned will have to work hard to achieve this goal there can be little doubt, and this week’s summit meeting and pledges are only two small steps, but the walk to freedom and peace for both peoples needs that first step to be taken. After four years of bloodshed in which thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died, it must be obvious that a truly sincere and lasting ceasefire will be a challenge which the leaders must face. On his side Abbas has to show the ability to rein in Palestinian militants such as Hamas, the radical Islamic group which has already sounded a cautionary note on Tuesday’s pledges. Hamas has declared that it will have to evaluate the result of the summit before committing itself to laying down its arms. In other words, only if Abbas delivers national goals to the Palestinian people would attacks on the Israelis come to an end.

On his side Sharon has not only got to satisfy the demands of Palestinians for their own homeland but has to deliver the demands of the Israeli people that terrorism such as suicide bombings would stop. Already Sharon faces some rebellion from his own Likud party with respect to the Israeli pull-out from the Gaza strip. There is a deep split on the pullout plan which calls for the evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank. A Bill in the Israeli Parliament to provide compensation for the Israelis who are to be evacuated was nearly scuttled when six Likud party members voted against it on Tuesday. It was narrowly passed in a 10-9 vote demonstrating just how difficult bringing peace in the region will be. Ironically, the vote that pushed the compensation bill over the top came from an Arab lawmaker. The closeness of the vote could, however, signify how important and essential it is for both Jews and Arabs to understand that survival hinges on the two sides working together.