By Naguib Mahfouz I cannot say that the Wye Accord fulfils the dreams of the Palestinian people, the dreams which they have struggled to make reality for over half a century. It would be enough, however, if the agreement were to put an end to the construction of new settlements in the Occupied Territories. An agreement like this one should be evaluated only on the basis of whether it can put an end to the dangers facing what is left of the Palestinians' land, and to the Israeli expansionism that, if it continues, will make negotiations useless, since there will be nothing left to negotiate. We must look at the agreement in the context of the historical conditions surrounding it. Attempts at reaching a peaceful settlement had floundered altogether since Netanyahu's accession to power, and the Israeli government had backed down from all the commitments it had made in Madrid and Oslo. Simultaneously, Israel was attempting to occupy ever greater amounts of Arab land, and building new settlements at an unprecedented pace. In this perspective, the agreement reached at the Wye Plantation is undeniably an achievement. We can only hope that it is a step that will bring the Palestinians closer to obtaining their rights, a step that will take us out of the prevailing stagnation. I hope that the future will bring an improvement on the agreement. Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
