By Salama Ahmed Salama Those who had expected Clinton's visit to the Gaza Strip to shake up the peace process, reveal the tragic plight of the Palestinian people to the world, and uncover Netanyahu's fanaticism and intransigence were disappointed, to say the least. Clinton's defeat in his battle with Congress over the Lewinsky affair, which may lead to his impeachment, seems tantamount only to his defeat in his battle with Netanyahu. The repercussions have been the US's retreat from its commitment to peace and to the Wye Plantation Accord, on which the ink has barely dried. Netanyahu is already reneging on his pledges and imposing new terms and conditions upon the Palestinians. Leaving aside all the paraphernalia trundled out for his visit to Tel Aviv, and his pathetic endeavours to persuade the hard-liners in Netanyahu's government to honour the latest agreement, the visit, in fact, seems to have had two principal results. Netanyahu has demanded that the second phase of redeployment -- scheduled for the end of this week -- be postponed. He has dictated new conditions (no different from conditions he had set down in the past) that the Palestinians must fulfil before he accepts to budge from one inch of Palestinian land. These included not only the nullification of articles in the Palestinian National Charter, but also the elimination of any mention of a Palestinian state. All demands that he release Palestinian prisoners, as he had pledged, must be abandoned, and Arafat must pledge to disarm Hamas and Jihad personally. The second result has been the US administration's pledge to provide Israel with up to $1.2 billion in compensation for the withdrawal of its forces, the completion of its network of ring roads, and its settlement schemes, which encircle and stifle areas under Palestinian rule. These results certainly will not lead to a just peace. In fact, they will only add to the sins Clinton has already committed. If Netanyahu succeeds in obtaining the Palestinians' acquiescence, which he is certain to do (since Clinton has lost any leverage he may once have had), he will save his shaky government, threatened by an imminent no-confidence vote, and win over the extremist elements. Netanyahu is certain that Clinton will have nothing on his mind in the weeks and months to come but the desire to save his own skin. For the Palestinians, the first visit ever by a US president to Palestinian territory has a symbolic meaning. It had a soothing effect and played upon nationalist sentiments to such an extent that the Palestinian Authority could actually respond to Netanyahu's new demands, besides stripping the Charter of its most significant articles, expecting nothing in return. Clinton, naturally, can hardly be expected to urge the Palestinian Authority to stand united and resist Netanyahu's blackmail. On the other hand, the Palestinians would lose nothing if they insisted on the implementation of the Wye Agreement within the stipulated time frame, and refrained from helping Netanyahu resolve the current crisis with his government. Clinton, then, will go down in history as the president who inaugurated Gaza Airport. He may have embarked on the visit to obtain Israel's blessings, and return to Washington to declare a new foreign policy victory. But Netanyahu may well have defeated him yet again.
