No room for defiance

On the eve of a meeting between Arab foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Palestine the gulf between diplomats and popular opinion is wider than ever, reports Dina Ezzat
Still eager to thrash out a consensus on the Arab reaction to an escalating Israeli war against Palestinians, Arab foreign ministers were set to meet today at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. News of the urgent and extraordinary meeting -- convened at the Palestinians' request -- is not getting much public attention.
"So what are they going to do now? Are they going to liberate Al-Aqsa?" scoffed one Cairo taxi driver as the radio newscaster announced the meeting. "There have been so many meetings before and then what do they do? They just do what the Americans tell them to do." He shook his head in dismay: "This is not right. They meet and they agree on nothing. Why do they meet in the first place?"
It is not just taxi drivers who are shaking their heads. University students, professionals, workers -- a broad cross-section of the public -- offer the same sentiment: piling ministerials on top of summits, be they regular or extraordinary, is not going to make Israel less aggressive -- or the US less biased towards Israel. "No one can do anything because we are not strong," commented one university professor. "We have to build ourselves up first; then we can face Israel and the US." He added, pragmatically: "If the US is feeding half the Arab world and is defending the richer Arab states, then we simply have to obey what the US has to say. So why have Arab meetings? Let's have meetings with the US."
The Palestinians had originally wanted a full Arab summit, a request refused by many Arab leaders in the knowledge that nothing would emerge from such a meeting to satisfy the expectations of the Arab people, much less send a clear message to either Israel or the US. "We have to be realistic. None of the Arab countries could afford to defy the US bluntly; there is room for disagreement, but not for defiance," commented one Egyptian diplomatic source.
Egypt is not alone in this position. Jordan and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been the US's closest Arab allies for over two decades. Even the Syrians are aware that this is not the right time to defy the will of the US, which is currently acting to liquidate any opposition to its policies. Iraq is the only Arab state for which defying the US might have a point. "We have to make our voice heard, or else face the consequences of continued submission to the US," commented one Cairo-based Iraqi diplomat.
On Tuesday Iraqi President Saddam Hussein called for an urgent Arab summit to discuss Israel's aggression against the Palestinians. "We have to secure victory for our suffering people in Palestine," the Iraqi president said in a televised appeal. To wait until March -- the scheduled date for the annual Arab summit -- is totally unacceptable, Hussein argued.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa insisted that the Arab voice will be heard at this meeting. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Moussa sounded confident that Arab countries will stick to their position that Israel cannot impose its vision for peace on the Arabs. Moussa also seemed confident that irrespective of any traditional differences, Arab foreign ministers will offer a vote of confidence in Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
As for the US, Moussa was still adopting an encouraging tone. Last week, the US used its Security Council veto to block an Arab resolution regarding the situation in the occupied territories -- a move Moussa described as "totally illogical." However, he was clear in saying that the proposition for peace in the Middle East that was offered a few weeks ago by US Secretary of State Colin Powell is still workable. "What Powell offered remains valid," Moussa said. He added that it is up to Washington to stand by its views in the face of increasing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinians.
The Palestinians themselves do not want to give up on the Americans. "This is all we have to hold on to," commented one Palestinian diplomat. He added that the Palestinians cannot count on Arab support beyond a certain point. "Our president is no longer welcome in certain Arab capitals," the diplomat said. "We understand that others have their own problems and this is why we have to be realistic." It is this realism, the source said, that forced Arafat to make an appeal to the Palestinian people to suspend the Intifada and to adopt the recent "corrective measures with our brothers in Hamas and other groups."
In view of the Palestinian wish to go along with American proposals, and the security measures requested by the US and Israel, what do the Palestinians want from today's meeting? "Whatever support, political or financial, that we might be offered," answered one Palestinian diplomat.
In all likelihood, this support, Arab diplomatic sources told Al-Ahram Weekly, is not going to extend beyond a political stance that might serve as a cushion for the Palestinian negotiating position. A few measures regarding financial support can also be expected.
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