In contrast to the previous two rounds of talks, Egyptian officials were upbeat about last week's inter-Palestinian dialogue, reports Magda El Ghitany Egyptian Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman seemed to indirectly underline Cairo's determination to make a success of the third round of Palestinian dialogue, held at the Egyptian capital last week, by a first-ever gesture. This was the first time since his first public appearance in 2002 that the intelligence chief spoke before the TV cameras. Even before the dialogue opened the sense that this latest round would offer something new was made apparent by the public venue of the meeting, as well as by the invitations issued to journalists to attend its opening session. Previous rounds were held in strict secrecy that included even the venue itself. After three years of relentless behind-the- scenes negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), Palestinian factions, Israeli, European and American officials, conditions at last appeared ripe to deliver. Suleiman delivered the opening address of the meetings, and following a couple of days of intensive closed talks appeared once again before TV cameras to read out the text of the agreement, which the participants named "the Cairo Declaration" (see the text of the declaration, p.7). The Cairo Declaration not only upheld the factions commitment to maintaining "calm" (read ceasefire) for the rest of 2005, but in what many have described as a historic development, committed the PA to sweeping political reforms of both PA and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) structures. Egyptian officials welcomed the new-found inter-Palestinian unity. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit declared the dialogue was a "big success". Abul-Gheit further noted that the "calm" the 13 factions had agreed to extend would "pave the way to activate [last February's] Sharm El-Sheikh [Summit] agreements." Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Egyptian officials attributed Cairo's success this time around to a number of causes. "The Cairo Declaration is the outcome of closer collaboration and goodwill among Palestinian factions. But is also a result of the recent thaw in Palestinian-Israeli relations," an Egyptian diplomat told the Weekly. The meeting of the Palestinian factions in Cairo last week, the Egyptian diplomat noted, took place at a time when "Palestinians felt the need for consolidating the Palestinian house". This, the diplomat explained, was not the case in the past. Moreover, the PA now has a new leader, Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen, following the death of Yasser Arafat, he noted further. These positive developments had partially contributed to Israel's proposal of withdrawing unilaterally from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, the Egyptian official said. And, that is why it was vitally important to "reach out for a common ground" among the Palestinians. Many political analysts concurred. "There are three main reasons that helped boost Egypt's mediating role between the rival Palestinian factions," Adel Suleiman, deputy director of the International Centre for Future and Strategic Studies (ICFS), told the Weekly. "The Israeli prime minister's decision to proceed with his unilateral pullout plan, in spite of the strong opposition of Israeli right- wing forces played a part. Also, the desire of the United States to have two independent states has created a fertile climate for Egypt to help the Palestinian factions reach an agreement." However, some Egyptian officials were cautiously optimistic, noting that even though Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon welcomed the Cairo Declaration, other Israeli officials, including Israel's minister of foreign affairs, Silvan Shalom, dismissed the declaration as an expedient stopgap that "will allow the terrorist organisations to rebuild". The Palestinian factions will honour the Cairo Declaration "only if Israel softens its stance on issues such as the release of the Palestinian prisoners, go ahead with the withdrawal plan, and dismantle settlements," an Egyptian official told the Weekly. Egypt's efforts to bring the Palestinian factions together first began in November 2002 when Suleiman initiated direct talks with leaders of the main Palestinian factions, including Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. In January 2003, Cairo hosted the first round of talks between the Palestinian factions. It also hosted the second round in December 2003.
