A one-day London meeting demonstrated support for the Palestinians and a commitment to Israeli security. Dina Ezzat followed the talks Security was supposed to be only one aspect of the three-item agenda of the London Meeting on the Support of the Palestinian Authority that convened at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre involving wide regional and international participation, with the exception of Israel, which was not officially invited to take part. As a matter of fact, issues relating to the economic support of efforts made by the Palestinian Authority to pursue better standards of governance and economic development constituted a significant part of the discussions that opened in London on Monday evening as delegations, including President Mahmoud Abbas who headed the Palestinian delegation, arrived in the British capital. It is equally true, however, that the issue of security -- mainly that of Israel -- was the most rigorously discussed matter not only during the convocation of the London meeting but also during the weeks leading up to the meeting in which Palestinian, Egyptian and Israeli delegations visited London to discuss the working papers of the conference that covered a range of issues from the revamping of the electoral and judiciary systems of the Palestinian Authority to improving the quality of water and electricity systems, and, above all to upgrading the performance of the Palestinian security apparatus under the unified supervision of the Palestinian National Security Council. While Palestinian and other Arab delegations found it "un-useful" to allow the attack that hit a Tel Aviv night club last Friday to cloud the "otherwise positive atmosphere of the meeting", the wishes conveyed by the Israelis to London were respected: Clear references -- and abundant ones -- were made to the attack including some indirect threats by participating US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Reform of the Palestinian security apparatus, she told her Palestinian interlocutors in London, cannot be delayed or slowed down. Rice demanded that attacks like that of last Friday night do not re-occur -- or else Washington will not constrain any possible Israeli reaction. The opening statements made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Palestinian President Abbas and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan were full of clear and uncompromising condemnation of the Friday attack and determination that they should be fought hard. "I believe that the Palestinian people, as well as its National Authority, have sent very important messages to the world, and specifically to our Israeli neighbours, which merit serious consideration and engagement," Abbas said. "The most important of these messages is our sincere preparedness to exert 100 per cent effort in the domain of security. To that end, we have deployed our troops on the ground and have taken a final decision concerning the consolidation of the security agencies according to the requirements of basic law. We continue to implement this decision, which also includes multiple lines of authority and reinforcing plurality." Palestinian diplomats in London told Al-Ahram Weekly that they were aware that the issue of security would be central to any discussions since this constitutes a permanent fixture of Israeli discourse in the context of all talks on a political settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict. After all, the sources said, the Palestinian Authority is committed to security reform. But what the Palestinians wanted to avoid -- and have not really been successful in doing -- is for the London meeting to over-emphasise the concept of security. There is ample reference in the "Final Conclusions of the London Meeting to Support the Palestinian Authority" to issues of security and the need to better recruit, train and manage members of the Palestinian security forces. But while the volume of language on security issues, in the final document adopted in London on Tuesday evening, is not necessarily much more than that dedicated to issues related to matters concerning political reform and economic development, the language on security came across as being much clearer and more committing. After all, Palestinians went out of London on Tuesday with promises to offer moral and financial support for their reform efforts and with a number of clear warnings and requests in relation to their administration of the security situation in the territories. No financial pledges were made as such to the Palestinians, neither from the wider international community nor form the oil-rich Gulf Arab states who were invited to the London meeting to demonstrate greater financial generosity towards their Palestinian brethren. Members of the Saudi delegations to the London Meeting told the Weekly that "no specific amounts have yet been decided." According to these sources, for the past few years Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries -- rich and not so rich -- have channelled financial aid to the Palestinian Authority through a fund established by the Arab League upon the initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in 2002. It now remains to be seen, they said, whether the follow-up mechanisms of the London meeting would create new channels or not. "This issue still needs to be discussed by the members of the London meeting and among Arab countries in their next Arab summit in Algeria towards the end of this month," a Saudi source told the Weekly. In the final analysis, Palestinian delegates to London say that despite the over-emphasis placed by the meeting on the issue of security -- they are still content with the outcome. For them the London meeting represents a revived and unequivocal recognition of the role of the Palestinian Authority. It also demonstrates international recognition of and moral support for the efforts exerted by the Palestinian Authority to apply reform on all fronts.
