By Ibrahim Nafie The US-sponsored memorandum of understanding signed between the PLO and Israel at the Wye River Plantation offers an historic opportunity for the parties involved in the Middle East conflict to move towards peace. The agreement marks a personal victory for President Clinton and was enthusiastically welcomed by the world's major powers, relieved to see some breakthrough 14 months after Madeleine Albright launched her initiative to bring the peace process back on track. In spite of all the wasted time and effort, the fact that an agreement has finally been reached to implement the second phase of redeployment constitutes a step in the right direction. The agreement resolves a lengthy list of pending issues, going beyond the withdrawal of Israeli forces from 13 per cent of occupied Palestinian territory to include the establishment of a safe corridor between the West Bank and Gaza, the beginning of construction of the Gaza Port which is vital to the Palestinian economy and the opening of Gaza airport, permitting direct contact between Palestinians and the outside world. And with these issues out of the way, the road has been cleared for the more difficult and sensitive final status negotiations. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Wye Plantation Accord resides in its reaffirmation that rights can be secured through persistence. The Palestinian people's steadfastness in rallying behind the Palestinian Authority, the backing of the Arab nations, and above all Egypt, and the support the Palestinian position has received from numerous international powers, as well as from the pro-peace forces inside Israel, have forced the Israeli government to accept commitments it has tried to evade for what seems like an eternity. Netanyahu has been forced to recognise that continuing to cater to the demands of the extreme right in Israel will result only in international isolation. This is why, in spite of last ditch attempts to threaten to walk out on the negotiations and to press for the release of the Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, Netanyahu agreed to sign. With the Wye agreement the Israeli prime minister has been given an opportunity to steer his country towards peace and, by implementing the articles of the agreement in text and in spirit, to rebuild trust with the Arab nations and Arab peoples. The agreement also allows the Palestinian people to resume the peace process and realise their aspirations and legitimate rights. Yet when the fate of an entire people is held in the balance it is essential that we be frank. The bomb attacks perpetrated by Hamas during the negotiations in Wye Plantation and the attempt to run a booby trapped car into a children's bus the day after the Wye Accord was signed are acts that can only be considered reckless and irresponsible. But this is not the first time such acts have threatened to jeopardise Palestinian interests. The redeployment of Israeli forces would have proceeded according to schedule were it not for the Hamas suicide bombings of February 1996 which brought the Israeli right to power. Everyone has the right to criticise the Wye and Oslo agreements and even the entire peace process if such criticism is aired responsibly and convincingly. What is unacceptable, however, is for any party to contest the remit of the Palestinian leadership, a remit legitimised through free and democratic elections, to conduct the peace process and manage the Palestinian conflict with Israel. One can hardly expect the Palestinian Authority to wrest Palestinian land from Israel only to have this sovereignty undermined by a Palestinian group with its own agenda. In this context, the statement issued recently by Hamas charging the PA with treachery and threatening civil war can only be viewed as a cynical disregard for the fate of the Palestinian people and a mockery of all recognised rules for democratic practice within the framework of a national liberation movement whose leadership has struggled for decades to create a national base on Palestinian territory. Similarly, there is no justification whatsoever for the attempts on the part of some Egyptian and Arab political forces to undermine Arafat's and the PLO's status as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The PLO, along with every Arab country, have fought for decades to achieve this status, yet suddenly we find some parties eager to confer this status on Hamas, although there has never been the slightest indication that the majority of the Palestinian people have chosen this movement to protect their interests. These attempts to undermine the PLO's legitimacy could not be more detrimental to the Palestinian cause at this crucial time. All this is not to say that the Wye Plantation Accord is ideal. Nevertheless, it is an accord that must be understood in its historical context. That the PA has been able to recover 13 per cent of occupied territory from an expansionist, right wing Israeli government has delivered a powerful blow to the ideological foundations of the ruling Likud Party. I believe that the Israeli people themselves are more aware of this reality than their current leadership. According to recent opinion polls the majority of the Israeli people believe that the establishment of a Palestinian state is inevitable. The agreement has also delivered a blow to the Likud's one-sided conception of security. Israel has been compelled to agree to take all necessary measures to prevent acts of terrorism, crime and aggression directed against Palestinians and their possessions. That the agreement also calls for the presence of an international observer -- the US -- to monitor the implementation of the Palestinian-Israeli accords introduces another element into the equation. Netanyahu had tried for months to wriggle out of this provision. Of course, the actual implementation of the accord will be the true test of the Israeli government's commitment to peace, particularly now that the Palestinian leadership has made the important concession of agreeing, once more, to revise the Palestinian National Charter, even after the previous revision of 1996 had been accepted by the Israeli government of the time. The Wye Plantation Accord has given the Israeli and Palestinian leadership a golden opportunity to end five decades of conflict. It has the full backing of the international community and of the US in particular. Washington has not only agreed to act as an observer but also to offer material support. Furthermore, that the US president has agreed to address the Palestinian national conference has given additional moral impetus to the agreement and will mark another step towards the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle to attain these rights.
