In spite of diplomatic efforts, the causes of tension in the Middle East are far from eliminated, reads Doaa El-Bey Palestinian factions managed to reach another fragile truce ( later to be shattered) to end inter- Palestinian fighting that erupted early this week. Meanwhile, both US Vice-President Dick Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad toured parts of the Middle East. The former sought to rally support of Arab allies and to counter Iran's influence in the region whereas the latter worked to reconfirm Tehran's commitment to peace. Given that past Palestinian agreements have failed to hold, writers pinned no hope on the present truce. Sameh Shabib wrote in the independent Palestinian daily Al-Ayam that the present situation on the ground is the outcome of many factors, including the Israeli oppression and its repeated attacks on the territories and on Palestinian security forces, the financial and political embargo imposed on the Palestinians, the presence of over 400 military barriers which paralyse movement in the West Bank and the state of frustration that has overwhelmed Palestinian citizens as a result. Thus, Shabib added, a weak Palestinian Authority paved the way for the creation of armed groups and created a state of disorder. "It is crystal clear that a central authority that has full control of security and weapons is absent in Gaza and the West Bank," he wrote. However, it is only through interaction among the Palestinian Authority, the security forces and the civil society that a mechanism for containing security disorders could be created, especially when the situation on the ground shows that the forces are incapable of controlling society and providing security for the Palestinian citizen. In its editorial, the London- based Al-Quds Al-Arabi assumed that the Mecca agreement together with the formation of the national unity government should have put an end to all forms of inter- Palestinian confrontations and violence. But, the editorial named a few developments that impeded Palestinian reconciliation, namely the hardliners in both Fatah and Hamas who are not happy to be part of a political partnership that led to the formation of the unity government; the failure of the Mecca agreement to lift the embargo on Palestinians and win international recognition for a unity government; Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinians and its continuous attempt to divide them; the media campaign that each Palestinian party launched against the other, and finally the state of security chaos and weapons smuggling that transformed Gaza into a "forest of weapons". The editorial regarded clashes, killing and kidnappings as a natural outcome of the occupation. "But the real danger is that clashes erupted at the time when Israel is getting ready to re-enter Gaza, a fact that proves Israel is involved directly or indirectly in inciting clashes and division anew among the Palestinian factions," the editorial summed up. The Jordanian independent daily Al-Dostour expressed concern about the breakout of violence between Fatah and Hamas at a time when the Palestinian Authority is getting ready to implement the new security plan that would supposedly end Palestinian violence. However, the newspaper's editorial added that the only logical reason for these clashes is the chronic state of mutual doubt that still governs relations between Fatah and Hamas. It regarded the Israeli occupation as the greatest problem the Palestinians have had for decades and hinders all their options for progress, independence and development. In their fight against the Israelis, a number of security and military organisations emerged. Some of these organisations became so hard to control that they posed a threat to the Palestinian citizen. The editorial expressed its trust that the new security plan, once implemented, could end all forms of disorder and violence and provide security and protection for the citizens. "Inter-Palestinian clashes serve the Israeli occupation and helps it maintain its continuous embargo on the Palestinians and implement its plan to weaken the credibility of the Palestinian Authority," it read. Cheney's visit to the Middle East was supposedly an attempt to gain the backing of Arab leaders for US efforts to stem violence in Iraq and seek support for continuing diplomatic pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme. Jawad Bashara believed that Cheney's visit like any other by a top US official recently, aimed at saving America's blushes and extracting it out of the Iraqi dilemma safely. He wrote in the Iraqi independent daily Al-Rafidayn that Cheney aspired to persuade the region's states to help in the process of rebuilding Iraq. It is also a desperate attempt to stem the interference of neighbouring states in Iraq's internal affairs and its support for militias and armed groups inside Iraq. "Cheney is carrying a clear and strong message to the neighbouring states that support Iraq, namely Iran and Syria, and a less stronger message for Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the [United Arab] Emirates, and to Jordan and Egypt as well." Bashara wrote. Ahmadinejad is also delivering his own message to the region this week as Zuhair Qusaibati put it in the London-based daily Al-Hayat : Iran has peaceful intentions though it is adamant about going ahead with its nuclear programme and Iran would never seek a military confrontation with the US in the Gulf. Cheney cast doubt about the message and confirmed that the US would never allow Tehran to control the region. Commenting on the fact that Ahmadinejad's visit came hand in hand with his offer to begin negotiations on Iraqi security with the US in Baghdad, Qusaibati confirmed that it was not a coincidence, but "a double message to the region. On the one hand, Iran would help in controlling security in Iraq after the present Iraqi government and US forces failed to do so. It was also a signal to Washington on the other hand that their negotiations in Baghdad would not only be about the Iraqi security file." He did not rule out that the United Arab Emirates would play the role of the mediator between Washington and Tehran. He based his assumption on a slip of the tongue of one of the officials accompanying Cheney who said there were messages that the UAE leaders would deliver to their Iranian guest. Given that size of Iranian-Gulf trade, Qusaibati cast doubt over the possibility of the US managing to issue a Security Council resolution to impose an economic embargo on Iran. Until then, Ahmadinejad has two recourses -- the Gulf, which is why he made his tour this week, and Baghdad negotiation which is supposed to start soon.
