Fresh ideas, old reactions

While the Palestinian leadership is stuck between a rock and a hard place, peacemakers are trying to pick up the pieces of a tattered peace process, report Laila Hafez in Paris and Nevine Khalil in Cairo
Chirac has answered Mubarak's call for more European engagement
Over the past 16 months, the Egyptians, French, Germans and Jordanians have all pitched ideas on how to end the stalemate in the Palestinian-Israeli standoff and stem the bloodshed in the Palestinian territories. These attempts have been consistently stonewalled by Israel and its backers in Washington, but peace brokers in the region and Europe are not giving up. There is a lot standing in their way: the discarded peace process has seen Palestinian President Yasser Arafat held hostage in his West Bank headquarters for almost nine weeks. Compounding this tense state of affairs is the sympathetic ear Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon finds in Washington.
According to French sources, President Hosni Mubarak "showed interest" in France's recent initiative to break the deadlock during his visit in Paris earlier this week. French President Jacques Chirac proposed holding elections to cement Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's legitimacy as the leader of his people. The elections would be followed by the establishment of a Palestinian state, which would be immediately recognised by Israel and the United Nations. Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, told reporters on Sunday that "there are some who cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Palestinian leadership, and its dedication to the peace process." With these elections, it would be possible to "eliminate all doubts and leave the Palestinian people to express their view." But, Maher noted, this plan could not be implemented any time soon. Other necessary steps, such as the presence of international observers, would be needed, to ensure calm and oversee the elections.
The French position is that a Palestinian state should be the starting point, rather than the concluding issue, in negotiations. "It is absolutely necessary to emerge from this impasse," said Chirac in a presidential statement after talks with Mubarak on Saturday. "We must rediscover a political perspective, which will allow the return of the parties to the negotiating table."
But Israel and the US have met the proposal with resistance, which led French diplomats to emphasise that the initiative was only an "idea", open to discussion, and not a plan to be accepted or rejected.
Mubarak's chief political adviser, Osama El-Baz, said that the US's refusal to consider the French initiative "does not undermine [France's] importance, or the European role." El-Baz continued that, "a variety of ideas is beneficial and not harmful to the conflict. They are worth noting." Maher agreed, saying that the US "is not the judge. The situation is that there are ideas being proposed, and it is important to discuss these ideas, especially when they have many positive aspects," he said.
Mubarak spoke by telephone with US President George W Bush on Tuesday to discuss the results of various consulations between the Egyptians, Americans, the Europeans, the Palestinians and Israelis. The two presidents also pledged their commitment to continued coordination on developing issues.
El-Baz noted that the US efforts should go hand-in-hand with European efforts instead of Washington "shouldering the responsibility alone." German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will be touring the region starting today. The tour will take him to Egypt, the Palestinian territories and Israel.
Maher believes that Europe can do more "and could do better," because there is "mounting anger" in the Arab world over Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. Arafat has been "humiliated," noted Maher, and yet he is asked to take measures which only a powerful leader could take. "That's a contradiction," Maher said.
Mubarak's warnings were more to the point: "If anything happens to Arafat, it will cause chaos in the region, affecting all countries, including those which support Israel," he told reporters after talks with Chirac. "I am not supporting any individual, per se, but defending peace and stability in the region." Mubarak said that he was hoping that Egypt, Europe, the US and Israel would cooperate to resolve the conflict. El-Baz described those who want to remove Arafat from power as "saboteurs."
Arafat's crisis, Israel's daily aggressions against the Palestinians and developments on the Iraq-UN track were all talking points during meetings between Mubarak and Chirac on Saturday. These issues will also be on the agenda when US Vice-President Dick Cheney meets with Mubarak next month as part of his regional tour. Cheney's trip comes ahead of an Arab summit in late March, while rumours swell of an anticipated strike against Iraq.
Cairo is at the forefront of Arab capitals opposed to possible strikes against any Arab country as part of an expanded US-led war against world terrorism. "Attacking any Arab country goes against the general consensus in the world," El-Baz affirmed. His solution: Iraq should comply with UN resolutions and allow inspectors to continue their work weeding out what remains of Iraq's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.
"Mixing issues of fighting world terrorism and UN resolutions pertaining to Iraq will only confuse matters," said El-Baz. Maher agrees, saying he does not see anything that would warrant a strike against Iraq since Baghdad was not involved in the 11 September attacks in the US. Maher took this point further on Monday when he said that "it would be a mistake" to attack Iraq because "it would complicate things and divide the camp which forms part of the consensus against terrorism."
Mubarak and Chirac urged Iraq to make use of an opportunity for dialogue with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan regarding the implementation of UN resolutions. Their call comes after Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa told Annan that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was ready for dialogue without preconditions.
Meanwhile, Egypt's ambassador to Washington, Nabil Fahmy, has been in consultations with American and Palestinian officials. As Sharon wrapped up his visit to Washington on Saturday, Cairo urged support of the Palestinian leadership and the easing of pressure on the Palestinians. This was clearly an attempt to counter Sharon's call on Washington to take an even tougher stand against the Palestinians. Although Sharon did not manage to convince US officials to sever ties with Arafat, Maher said that the US still needs to take a more positive stance. "The US did not accept the ideas proposed by Sharon. However, this is not enough" he said on Sunday. "The US should push [Israel] to embark upon procedures consistent with the principles of peace. It has to assist the world in making the Israeli government retract from its aggressive acts. That is what we will focus on in the next phase," Maher said.
El-Baz said that Egypt "is not interested in toppling governments in Israel, but rather wants to see a fundamental change in Israeli policies." The formula to achieve this, continued the senior adviser, is an expansion of the peace camp in Israel, a reduction in violence and an emphasis on rational thinking.
"You cannot make demands on Arafat without requiring anything of the Israelis," said Maher on Saturday. In Paris, Maher met with Palestinian Minister for International Cooperation Nabil Shaath. Since Arafat is immobile, Shaath briefed Maher on the Palestinian position ahead of the Mubarak-Chirac talks.
Additional reporting: Soha Abdelaty
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