Cairo presses Washington to press Sharon

Egypt, hopeful over an American change of tone, is asking Washington to put its words into actions, report Soha Abdelaty and Nevine Khalil
The United States finally decided to heed the calls of its allies in the region and rein in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Israel, however, decided on an opposite course of action this week -- defying the one remaining ally it has, after blowing off strong criticism from Arab countries, the European Union, and the United Nations (UN).
"The US shoulders special responsibility as the main sponsor of the peace process and the guarantor of all signed agreements," President Hosni Mubarak said in a televised speech to the nation. "In my two letters to Bush, I urged the US administration to exert its utmost effort, using all its diplomatic clout to ensure Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, the ending of the inhuman siege of Arafat and the return of the parties to the negotiating table to implement the Mitchell and Tenet plans without any revisions," Mubarak added on 4 April.
In what appeared to many analysts to be a US policy change, US President George Bush put his credibility on the line this week in repeating his call to Sharon to withdraw "now, not tomorrow" from the West Bank territories Israel has occupied in the past couple of weeks. Bush also decided to dispatch US Secretary of State Colin Powell on a regional tour.
Bush's latest call on Monday, however, came hours after Sharon delivered a speech to the Knesset in which he claimed to have promised the US president that he would try to wrap up the incursion as quickly as possible but did not intend to withdraw immediately.
Sharon's response took the US, as well as Egypt, by surprise. "The US has asked Sharon to stop immediately but he (Sharon) says that he will finish his mission first. We are asking the US what its response will be to this message," said Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Monday before posing the same question to Powell on Tuesday upon his arrival in Cairo. This call, Maher continued, is coming from "the president of the country that is one of the dearest friends of Israel and which assists it... I believe that a great power should amend its position accordingly."
Maher has also asked the world community when they intend to stand up to Sharon's policies. "If one-tenth of these crimes were conducted by another politician in another country the world would have stood up in an uproar."
"We want to see whether the world is acting with one set of standards or not. Are there human beings of the first class and of the second class in the eyes of the developed and civilised world? Is all that attention to human rights and democracy just talk? Why don't they hold Israel accountable to the same principles?" Maher asked.
Cairo feels, however, that there might still be hope that progress can be made with Powell's visit. When asked, following his meeting with Powell, whether the US official's visit to the region can achieve a breakthrough, Maher said that he "prefers not to speak about breakthroughs. I think we have achieved some progress, and will achieve more, and we should continue to work with the US and Europe."
Egypt's perspective on the matter is shared by Jordan. Cairo and Amman consulted and agreed on a united stand to present to Powell ahead of his visit. President Mubarak held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb on Monday, to decide the best course of action in assisting the Palestinians in their struggle. Abu Ragheb told Al-Ahram Weekly that there might be a breakthrough as a result of Powell's tour of the region, and that Washington "should be able to convince Sharon to end his aggression." He continued that the Arabs are waiting "to see if the Americans can pressure Sharon into withdrawing from the territories or not."
Speaking to reporters in Cairo, Abu Ragheb said that the Americans should "shoulder the responsibility of putting things in order and bringing about a cease-fire."
The Jordanian premier stressed that "at the end of the day, it's a political issue [because] security cannot be maintained without peace." This "political outlook" means the implementation of the Tenet plan and the Mitchell recommendations, to be followed by the adoption of the Arab initiative, according to which Israel would withdraw from all occupied Arab territories in return for normal relations with all Arab countries. "It's a tough job and we all have to work hard to achieve this," Abu Ragheb said. Maher said that all the ideas currently on the table can be bundled into one package.
Cairo also consulted with Riyadh earlier in the week, when Mubarak met with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal -- in town to attend the emergency Arab foreign ministers' meeting -- on Saturday.
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See: Invasion
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Invasion 4 -10 April 2002
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The cost of vengeance 23 - 29 November 2000
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