ISRAELIS AND Palestinians witnessed yesterday the most inspiring and hopeful moment in more than four years of bloody conflict. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Mahmoud Abbas sat together at a conference table and declared an end to all military activity and acts of violence -- the strongest commitment the two sides have made to each other since the collapse of the Camp David peace talks and the eruption of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Since then some 3,300 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis have died, including hundreds of Israeli civilians slaughtered in pizza parlors, coffee shops and buses by suicide bombers, and scores of Palestinian children killed by Israeli army fire or airstrikes. The shooting probably won't stop entirely, at least not right away, and the prospects for a broader political settlement remain cloudy. Still, the public commitment of the new Palestinian leadership to ending violence, and Israel's corresponding promise of a cease-fire, is cause for celebration -- and the essential predicate for a new peace process.
Could it really happen? I remain skeptical. The only real change has been Arafat is out of the way. The other plus is Abbas had negotiated a boundary for partition that could create a Palestinian state with the Israeli's in 1995 that looks very much like the Israeli preferred boundary today.
However, Hamas hasn't agreed to a ceasefire. But under pressure from Abbas and the Palestinian Authority deployed between Gaza and Israel, operations have ceased. Rumors persist however about further suicide bombers being recruited. And Israel continues to grab land on the West Bank.
Hamas continues to have effectively a veto of any peace accord. They have the support of the Gaza people in the recent election. Meanwhile, Israel continues to be concerned about the Hamas threat and is trying to garner international support to contain them. The most explosive issue, the status of Jerusalem has not been even discussed.
There is still just too much up in the air to be confident of peace.
More: Truce? | Hamas
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Middle East Truce
Wednesday, February 9, 2005; Page A22
ISRAELIS AND Palestinians witnessed yesterday the most inspiring and hopeful moment in more than four years of bloody conflict. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Mahmoud Abbas sat together at a conference table and declared an end to all military activity and acts of violence -- the strongest commitment the two sides have made to each other since the collapse of the Camp David peace talks and the eruption of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Since then some 3,300 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis have died, including hundreds of Israeli civilians slaughtered in pizza parlors, coffee shops and buses by suicide bombers, and scores of Palestinian children killed by Israeli army fire or airstrikes. The shooting probably won't stop entirely, at least not right away, and the prospects for a broader political settlement remain cloudy. Still, the public commitment of the new Palestinian leadership to ending violence, and Israel's corresponding promise of a cease-fire, is cause for celebration -- and the essential predicate for a new peace process.
The summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik was the culmination of a remarkably rapid movement by Palestinians and Israelis toward accord since Yasser Arafat's death in November. Defying predictions of chaos or even civil war, Palestinian elites and much of the public have lined up behind Mr. Abbas, who in turn has so far skillfully countered challenges from Islamic militants. Mr. Sharon, who did little to help an attempt by Mr. Abbas to end the conflict in 2003, when Mr. Arafat was still alive, has been more accommodating this time: In addition to promising that "Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere," Mr. Sharon has pledged to withdraw Israeli troops from five West Bank towns in the next three weeks and release some 900 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli prime minister, meanwhile, is pressing his initiative to remove all Israeli soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip and one part of the West Bank by later this year; if the cease-fire holds, that withdrawal could be a major victory for moderates on both sides.
The Bush administration and its Arab and European allies have hit on a rare combination of cooperation and effectiveness in recent weeks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not attend yesterday's conference, which allowed for the heartening spectacle of Israeli and Palestinian leaders working together under the sponsorship of Arab neighbors Egypt and Jordan. But Ms. Rice made clear a U.S. commitment to the emerging detente through her visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah earlier in the week, her appointment of an American general to help broker and monitor Israeli-Palestinian security arrangements, and the invitations to Mr. Abbas and Mr. Sharon for White House meetings in the near future. Meanwhile, the United States will gather with European allies in London for an international conference on helping the Palestinians build a new economic infrastructure, security apparatus and democratic institutions.
It is easy, maybe even prudent, to be pessimistic about the chances for a deeper Palestinian-Israeli accord. Both Mr. Abbas and Mr. Sharon face daunting and possibly violent battles with extremists in the coming months; both cling to deal-breaking goals, including Mr. Sharon's agenda for Israeli control over large parts of the West Bank and Mr. Abbas's insistence on a "return" by Palestinian refugees to Israel. Yet the possibility now exists of concrete and genuine change for the better: the elimination of checkpoints and roadblocks; the removal of Israeli settlements and transfer of all of Gaza to a reformed Palestinian administration; the return of prisoners to their families; and best of all, a diminishing of the tragic losses and pervasive fear that have haunted both Israelis and Palestinians for more than four years. A cease-fire is only a cease-fire, but for Israelis and Palestinians, it could also be, as Mr. Abbas yesterday put it, "the start of a new era."
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Last update - 01:56 09/02/2005
Hamas says it is not bound by cease-fire
By Arnon Regular
Two key Palestinian militant groups criticized Israeli and Palestinian pledges to end bloodshed, but said they will wait to see what comes next before deciding whether to continue attacks.
A Hamas representative said his group is not bound by the truce.
Their remarks came shortly after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared at the summit an end to all military and militant operations.
"The talk about what the leader of the Palestinian Authority called a cessation of acts of violence is not binding on the resistance because this is a unilateral stand and was not the outcome of an intra-Palestinian dialogue, as has been agreed previously," Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, told The Associated Press.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, also dismissed the summit, saying, "It did not achieve anything. From our people's interests, the Israeli position did not change."
Both Hamas men said it was too early to say whether Hamas would resume its activities against Israelis.
"We are going to listen to Mr. Abbas when he returns," Abu Zuhri said. "We are going to sit down with him, and then we are going to declare our position."
Hamdan said Hamas' decision will depend on "achievement of a substantial change [in Israel's position] to meet Palestinian demands and conditions."
Nafez Azzam, the top Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, criticized Sharon for failing to explain exactly what he is committing himself to.
"We have mentioned several times before that calm cannot come from one side, and cannot come for free," Azzam said. "We will wait for the return of Mr. Abbas, and then we will see."
Qureia downplays reactions
On arriving with Abbas in Amman after the summit, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia downplayed the Hamas and Islamic Jihad reactions.
"There are good understandings between all the Palestinian groups and factions and leaders," Qureia said. "We'll discuss with them now, immediately, the results [of the summit]."
Abbas has held talks with them and other militant Palestinian groups in an attempt to convince them to agree to a truce with Israel.
Hamdan said that in order for a truce to succeed, Israel must release Palestinian prisoners and provide "a clear commitment ... to halt all kinds of aggression against the Palestinian people. These two conditions were not achieved at the summit. Overall, I think this summit did not achieve any valuable interest for the Palestinian people."
Sharon said at the summit that "Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere." Hamdan did not specify how that fell short of Hamas' requirement.
Hamdan said that since the summit had failed to meet two major Palestinian conditions - the release of Palestinian prisoners and Israel's commitment to stop all kinds of aggression against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip - "there is no change in Hamas' attitude."
Senior Palestinian sources said in Sharm el-Shiekh yesterday that the first phase of the prisoner release decided on before the summit would begin at the end of this week.
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