The attack on Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher in Jerusalem will not discourage Cairo from its drive to achieve peace, Gamal Essam El-Din reports The assault on Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Monday reverberated through Cairo's diplomatic and political circles this week. The fact that the attack was carried out by Palestinians, members of the Islamist Hizbul Tahrir (Liberation Party), during Maher's visit to the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem has sparked furious reactions at all levels. All, however, agreed that it must not dampen Cairo's efforts aimed at achieving peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Maher was on a one-day mission to Israel, coordinated with the Palestinian Authority and its leadership, to push the peace process forward. A presidential statement condemned the attack, emphasising that "such acts will by no means affect Egypt's determination to do its best to reach a comprehensive peaceful settlement to the Palestinian issue through bringing the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table." Maher assured that the attack would only strengthen Egypt's determination to bring the two sides back to negotiations for a peaceful settlement. Political sources emphasised to Al-Ahram Weekly that the attack must not hinder Cairo's efforts to reach a peaceful solution to Arab-Israeli conflict. Ahmed Abu Zeid, chairman of Parliament's Arab Affairs Committee, told the Weekly that he was deeply outraged by the fact that those who attacked Maher were Palestinians. "The attackers even called the foreign minister a traitor and a collaborator. It is highly depressing that in Palestine there are some who think that Egypt is collaborating against them or that Maher is a traitor to their cause," said Abu Zeid. Abu Zeid argued that although the attack on Maher is an attack on Egypt's dignity, Egypt must continue to strive to help the Palestinians regain their legitimate rights and have their own state. "Egypt offered the Palestinians a multitude of sacrifices over more than half a century and must not be discouraged by a petty act," Abu Zeid said. On a visit to Sadat Industrial City (90 kilometres northeast of Cairo) on 22 December, President Hosni Mubarak said Maher's visit to Israel is part of Egypt's ongoing efforts to help bring the Palestinians and the Israelis back to the negotiating table. To achieve this objective, President Mubarak added, Maher would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his foreign minister Silvan Shalom. "While I was in Geneva, I met with the Israeli foreign minister and told him bringing the two sides back to negotiations will help relieve the Palestinians and the Israelis of psychological stress and get them out of a cycle of wars, killing and annihilation," Mubarak said. Mubarak also said he has great hopes that "while in Israel, Maher would be able to tackle all the existing problems in a bid to bring the two sides back to negotiations." The president said the talks held earlier this month by the Palestinian factions in Cairo was just the beginning. "When another opportunity comes, we will invite them to a second round of talks in Cairo. We just want all of these factions to unite behind the Palestinian Prime Minister [Ahmed Qurei] and support him when negotiations with the Israelis resume," Mubarak said. Cairo has been attempting to persuade the Palestinian factions to halt attacks against Israeli targets and reach a one- year truce with the Israelis, during which the two sides will be able to negotiate a final settlement. Before Maher's attack it was announced that Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian chief of intelligence, would visit Ramallah in a few days to meet with Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat. Suleiman has been in Washington in the last week in talks about the progress of negotiations for a ceasefire by Palestinian factions. Arafat decided to send a high-profile delegation to Cairo to apologise for the attack on Maher and to coordinate with Cairo on the moves required for the next period. The talks held by Maher with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon were regarded as largely successful. After his return to Cairo, Maher expressed his hope that the attack would not defuse his trip in which he met with key Israeli officials. "I hope what happened will by no means affect the visit itself or its objectives," said Maher. Sharon lauded Egypt's mediation efforts, promising to remain committed to the US-backed roadmap peace plan and to respond positively if Palestinian factions reached a truce. Maher said while the Israelis would not sign a truce with Palestinian militants, they would abide by a ceasefire. Sharon also said he was sure his talks with Maher would lead to promoting Israel's relationship with the Palestinian Authority and enhancing the chances of concluding an agreement with the Palestinians. In response, Maher emphasised that the Israeli officials, Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, said they are committed to the roadmap, according to which confidence-building steps must be adopted in parallel by both sides. Informed sources told the Weekly that the major obstacle facing the successful outcome of talks among Palestinian groups was that Israel declared, on several occasions, that it would not be committed to any truce. "Now, the fact that Sharon responded positively to Maher's visit must be considered a success paving the way to negotiations," said Abu Zeid. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel. After the breakout of the second Palestinian Intifada in September 2000, however, Egypt decided to withdraw its ambassador. Sources said that Maher's visit to Israel -- the first by an Egyptian foreign minister in two-and-a-half years -- probably signalled a remarkable step towards appointing a new Egyptian ambassador to Israel. Easing tensions between America and Syria was another major concern to which Cairo devoted great efforts this week. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad visited Sharm El-Sheikh yesterday to launch a new round of talks with Mubarak. The talks primarily focussed on Al-Assad's recent announcement that he is ready to resume peace talks with Israel. On 14 December, Mubarak urged the United States and Israel to respond positively to Al-Assad's call for negotiations. It is no secret that in recent weeks Cairo has been trying to mend fences between Syria and America, especially after the US Syrian Accountability Act was passed by Congress on 12 November and signed by President Bush on 13 December. Syria has been facing hard times recently. The US-led invasion of Iraq, the capture of Saddam Hussein and Libya's surprise decision to relinquish weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have exerted tremendous pressure on Syria. America has accused Syria of pursuing WMDs and sheltering terrorist organisations. Syrian-Israeli negotiations froze three years ago because Syria stipulated that they must resume where they stopped before former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. The European Union's Middle East Envoy Marc Otte met with President Mubarak on 22 December and said Syria's proposal to resume negotiations with Israel is very positive. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid was in Syria this week to head the proceedings of the Joint Egypt-Syria Higher Committee. Ebeid met with Al-Assad on Monday and said the two parties aim to raise the swap-deal between them from $300 million to $600 million. Egypt is aiming to buy greater wheat supplies (whose prices soared on world markets) from Syria in exchange for Egyptian goods. While in Sadat City, President Mubarak toured the factory of a joint Egyptian-Syrian textile company, Fortex. The thorny issue of WMDs also figured prominently on Cairo's agenda this week. President Mubarak praised Libya's surprise announcement on 19 December to dispose of its WMDs. "As far as I knew, Libya was not in possession of WMDs ... it is a good step." Mubarak seized Libya's decision to ask Israel abandon its arsenal of WMDs. "I discussed this issue many times with the Israelis since [former Israeli Prime Minister] Shimon Peres was in office. They said once the conflict is settled, they would not be in need of WMDs," Mubarak said. Mubarak said rumours that Egypt asked Tunis to move next year's Arab summit to Sharm El-Sheikh are entirely unfounded. "The next Arab summit will be held in Tunis and it will be aimed at discussing new instruments required to streamline the performance of the Arab League." Mubarak lauded the participation of Egyptian companies in the reconstruction of post-Saddam Iraq and urged the private sector to invest in that country. "It is good that Orascom Group is planning to establish an Egyptian satellite TV station in Iraq and it is also going to provide a mobile phone service there," he said. Orascom CEO Naguib Sawiris and Iraqi Minister of Telecommunication Jawad Abadi signed a licensing agreement on Monday under which Orascom will provide a mobile telephone service in the central region of Iraq. The deal was signed despite the US Department of Defence threatening to investigate officials in Iraq over allegations of taking bribes for granting mobile phone licenses to Orascom and two Kuwaiti companies. During his visit to Sadat City, President Mubarak toured three industrial factories involved in manufacturing steel, textiles and electrical equipment.
