The proof is in the pudding

Cairo is determined to push ahead with its diplomatic efforts, in spite of the US's tacit approval of Israel's confinement of Yasser Arafat to PA headquarters in Ramallah. Soha Abdelaty reports
The Israeli government and the US administration appear to have seen eye-to-eye this week on restricting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to his headquarters. The rationale behind what is effectively the house arrest of the Palestinian leader seems to be to compel Arafat to take more forceful actions against Palestinian "militants," as well as the Palestinian Authority (PA) officials alleged to have been involved in the Karine A ship affair.
The US administration said that it needs to reassess its relations with the PA, especially after American and Israeli intelligence information confirmed that PA officials were involved in an attempt to smuggle 50 tons of weapons aboard the Karine A. "I am disappointed in Yasser Arafat," US President George W Bush said on 25 January. "He must make a full effort to rout out terror in the Middle East. Ordering up weapons that were intercepted on a boat headed for that part of the world is not part of fighting terror, that's enhancing terror."
Some Western media outlets suggested that the options facing the administration include cutting ties with the PA, shutting down the authority's offices in Washington and refusing to dispatch US special envoy for the region, Anthony Zinni, to the Middle East unless Arafat takes the anti- terrorist measures deemed necessary by the US.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher warned on Monday that for the US to take the actions mentioned by Western media outlets would not be constructive. Maher, however, seemed confident that the US would not take those measures. "I do not believe that any of those actions will be taken. Contacts are being conducted with the United States to clarify the danger of such measures. I imagine that the US, in its keenness to push the peace process forward, realises that such steps speculated on by the press will not be constructive," he said.
"The Palestinians are not responsible for instigating the violence. The responsibility lies with Israel," he explained during a short visit on Monday to the Jordanian capital Amman. "If the US has been keen to call on the parties to practice self-restraint at different times, it is necessary now to direct this call at Israel," he added.
Maher was in Jordan delivering a letter from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to King Abdullah II and to conduct talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abou Ragheb and Foreign Minister Marwan Al-Mashaar. The two sides met to coordinate their positions, particularly in light of Abdullah's visit to Washington scheduled to begin 1 February.
"While the US is studying the situation in continuous meetings, we have to work to present it with the true picture so it does not take positions that do not help in reaching the solution that we are all seeking to reach," Maher explained in Amman. Cairo and Amman reiterated their positions that despite such statements from the US administration, the two countries still believe Arafat to be the legal representative of the Palestinian people. Maher said upon his return from Amman that, "preventing Arafat from moving and encircling his headquarters is a violation of all international norms and all the signed agreements, as well as being a provocation for the Palestinians."
Cairo and other Arab capitals also warned that Israeli actions against the PA have the potential to destablise the entire region. "Severing ties with the PA does not serve anyone in the region, but instead, threatens the interests of all the countries [in the region] and exacerbates problems," Maher said.
Maher also pointed out the inherent contradiction in the demands made on Arafat: although the PA president is asked to crack down on militants, he is stripped of any means to do so. "Weakening the PA does not allow it to take the necessary procedures," he said.
Voices in the Western media have warned Washington to give careful consideration to the potential consequences of Israel's actions. An editorial in the Washington Post on Monday stated that the actions taken by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon aim to replace Arafat, and not just force his hand. "Israeli forces systematically are targeting the infrastructure of Palestinian self-rule, bulldozing the runway of the Gaza airport and demolishing official headquarters in the name of combating terrorism. Mr Sharon says he is hoping to prompt the rise of a more moderate Palestinian leadership in place of Mr Arafat, but his tactics would leave few means for any Palestinian self-government to exercise authority," said the editorial. Despite Israeli intentions, however, "the Bush administration must carefully weigh whether such an outcome is in the American interest," it added.
Diplomatic sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that Israel's actions against the PA not only have the potential to cause chaos in the region, but also seem to be paving the way for reoccupation of PA-controlled territories.
In an attempt to explain the principles behind US recent decisions towards the PA, Robert Malley, director of the Middle East programme of the International Crisis Group, a US think tank, says that the US is adopting a "hands-off policy" towards the region. "The United States says the onus is on Mr Arafat and passively looks on, occasionally dispatching its special envoy when the situation looks better, keeping him home as soon as events take a turn for the worse," wrote Malley in the New York Times on Friday.
Cairo seems determined to continue making efforts through various diplomatic channels to lift the restrictions imposed on Arafat to ensure that he is able to attend the Arab League summit scheduled to be held at the end of March in Beirut. "Contacts in this regard are not made primarily with Israel, but it is clear that Israel has not yet responded to these requests," Maher explained on Monday. "The American side knows that when we offer them an analysis of the situation, it is one based on wisdom and reality, while Israel makes false claims... It is clear that their [Israel's] talk is baseless, but our explanations have time and again been proven correct," he added.
In the meantime, Sharon's top adviser, Danny Ayalon, met in Cairo with Mubarak's political adviser Osama El-Baz on Monday. According to Maher, the visit was an attempt to "clarify the Israeli position and to convey their good intentions." Nevertheless, Maher remained sceptical about Israel's intentions. "At the end of the day, actions -- not promises or statements -- are what counts."
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