The past few days have witnessed the unfolding of momentous events. Even though the major developments in the Middle East are currently all connected by their potential impact on security and stability in the region. In Egypt, the Sharm El- Sheikh summit revived hopes for renewed Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. The framework it produced for halting violence and instituting confidence-building mechanisms such as the release of prisoners and political detainees and the Israeli withdrawal from several areas marks a new beginning to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state. Only days before the summit, Damascus announced that it was ready to resume negotiations with Israel unconditionally. Simultaneously, the Italian foreign minister said he had received assurances from Syria that it would seek to persuade Hizbullah to halt its support for Palestinian factions in order to help the Sharm El-Sheikh conference succeed. Syria thus has clearly set its rudder towards peace. In Iraq, however, the recent election results confirm the predictions of many and put the dream of a united and stable Iraq further out of reach than before. Far from reconciling themselves to the results of the elections, the disgruntled Sunnis of Iraq will step up their resistance to the new status quo in Iraq. The restive Kurds, who are curiously pressing for autonomy and for right to hold the presidency at the same time threaten to bring the country to the brink of civil war. Add to that the growing tensions between the United States and Iran over the latter's nuclear facilities. In sharp contrast, the immanent creation of a Palestinian state now appears closer than ever. The most serious development, however, was the tragic assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri on Monday. Al-Hariri had stood the best chances to win the forthcoming Lebanese elections, a prospect distasteful to his long-term rival Lebanese President Emile Lahud and even more so to Syria. Through its official press, Syria let it be known that it believed Al- Hariri was behind the international drive that led to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 calling for the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, which is why the fingers of suspicion for Al- Hariri's assassination pointed to Damascus. Could Syria be so politically obtuse as to mount an operation of this nature at this time? Or could it be that some agency hoped to embroil Damascus even further in Lebanon so as to divert it from its successive offers to resume negotiations with Israel? Certainly chaos on the Lebanese- Syrian front would deprive Damascus of the relative stability it needs to mount a successful negotiating offensive. As disconnected as the above-mentioned developments are they are all part of the Middle East political jigsaw puzzle. The convergence of so many disparate interests in this region makes it impossible to believe that recent developments -- in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Sudan -- are random. There remains the question as to whose interests this would serve.
