Foreign Minister Abul-Gheit says Israel is getting ready for peace. Dina Ezzat seeks proof Back from a one-day mission to promote peace in Israel, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit reported a hesitant but growing Israeli wish to engage with the Arab peace initiative. The foreign minister, however, would not provide a fully positive impression, or for that matter reading, of his mission to Israel last Wednesday along with his Jordanian counterpart Abdul-Ilah Al-Khatib upon the request of the Arab Council of Foreign Ministers. Abul-Gheit would not go further than to say he is expecting to see serious Arab-Israeli talks that should deliver the much illusive peace launched in the near future. According to exclusive press statements to Al-Ahram Weekly upon his return from Israel, Abul- Gheit seemed ultra-careful in the selection of the words he used to characterise the outcome of his mission. The reason for the arduous linguistic task of the foreign minister was clear: Abul-Gheit did not want to accord his Israeli hosts an overrated acclaim for their want to walk the path of peace with the Arab world. But at the same time he would not want to throw cold water on the prospects of an eventual Israeli engagement in peace talks, at least with the Palestinians to start with. After all, it would be a major foreign policy defeat if Abul-Gheit was to declare to public opinion that Israel, despite some cautious welcoming statements of the five-year-old Arab peace initiative, is not ready yet to opt for peace, and that it would still be a few more years before there is an Israeli government willing and capable of negotiating peace deals that could lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state and the liberation of the Golan Heights and Shebaa Farms in return for full normal relations with Israel. This is not at all a line that Egypt is willing to entertain despite the growing conspicuous frustration in Cairo with the Israeli, and for that matter American, commitment to agree on a final status deal and implementation over a stretched but defined period of time with some international guarantees. To evade the dilemma encountered, not just upon his return from Israel, but by Egyptian diplomacy in general, Abul-Gheit opted for the yes-and-no approach. This had to be particularly the case in view of the marked difference in tone reflected by Abul-Gheit and Al-Khatib during a joint press conference they held with their Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni in Israel last Wednesday, with Abul-Gheit taking a less forthcoming posture than Al-Khatib." My impression is that for the first time there is an apparent Israeli willingness to positively engage with the Arab proposal and the Arab [peace] initiative," Abul-Gheit said. He hastened to add, however, "there are questions posed on the Israeli side aimed at demonstrating the engagement and the interaction in a positive manner on the part of Israel," he said. He added, "there is a declared recognition that we need to work on pushing the peace process forward." During their visit to Israel, Abul-Gheit and Al-Khatib met not just top Israeli officials but members of the Knesset and the Israeli opposition. Speaking to the Weekly, the top Egyptian diplomat said he sensed "a certain degree of variation" in the level of commitment to a prompt move to proceed with the peace process. Some, he said, are willing to meet Arab countries almost halfway on the Arab peace initiative. Others, he added, have not yet reached that point. But both the willing and hesitant camps, both in the government and Knesset, asked the visiting foreign ministers questions on the conditionality stipulated in the text of the Arab peace initiative. Most wanted what neither Abul-Gheit, nor even Al-Khatib with all the Jordanian school of diplomacy therein, could deliver: bigger steps of normalisation with Arab countries prior to the inclusion of any final peace deals. The Israeli hosts, especially Livni, were not oblivious to the wide-scale negative Arab reaction to her surprise meeting with her Moroccan counterpart in Paris a few weeks ago, despite the fact that Israel and Morocco have had trade relations. Abul-Gheit and Al-Khatib explained to their interlocutors that the mere fact that it was the foreign ministers of the only two countries that have full normal relations with Israel that were chosen to communicate with the Israeli side on the Arab peace initiative was clear indication that the Arabs are in no position to commit to normalisation in the absence of peace or even a blueprint for a deal, especially on the Palestinian track. For his part, Abul-Gheit -- not so much Al-Khatib -- told his Israeli hosts last week that Arab countries are now in a position where they cannot go in circles talking about "encouraging Israel to adopt necessary economic measures to facilitate the lives of Palestinians under occupation." Indeed, Abul-Gheit said, "the talk of the need to conclude a political horizon" that has prevailed since the beginning of the US re-engagement in the Arab-Israeli peace process is no longer sufficient. "I said that we need to move beyond talking about horizons that we can barely touch, to tangible matters that we could really sense," he said. According to Abul-Gheit, the visit to Israel involved delivering two messages: the Arabs are willing to work with Israel on reviving the peace process in a way that would accommodate some Israeli concerns "provided that we are talking about a serious process that could deliver a peace deal." The second is that if Israel wants an easier and smoother integration, then both Egypt and Jordan are willing to help, provided Israel takes serious moves on the road of final status peace talks especially on the Palestinian track. "Let us call a spade a spade. If they want normalisation they have to move on with peace. This is what we have to say and that is what they have to decide," Abul-Gheit said. He added that the mere expansion of the limited two-member ministerial committee for contacts with Israel that he shares with his Jordanian opposite number would not be guaranteed for free. He said that according to the resolution adopted by Arab foreign ministers in their meeting in June, for Israel to be granted this expanded participation of Arab representatives there are certain measures it needs to take on the ground in terms of easing economic closures in the occupied territories, suspending the construction of the wall of separation and the termination of the building of illegal settlements. Abul-Gheit acknowledged it was upon his instructions that the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv warned the Israeli government against any plans it had entertained about positioning the flag of the Arab League in the hallway where Abul-Gheit and Al-Khatib were holding meetings and briefings with their press counterparts. "We made it clear that we were there upon the request of the Arab League and not to represent the Arab League," Abul- Gheit stated. He added that the visiting ministerial delegation made it also very clear that the Arab League was not planning to negotiate on behalf of the parties even if it had undertaken the responsibility of promoting the Arab peace initiative. Abul-Gheit would not commit himself to a new round of talks with the Israeli side any time soon. "Livni was here a few weeks ago and we went to Israel and addressed our message of peace. We made our offer and we answered their questions," he said. He added that it was now time for the Israeli "government and society" to make its own decision on peace "and to start talking seriously" to the Arab side. Does the top Egyptian diplomat really trust the seemingly positive intentions demonstrated by the Israeli side? Does he think they will give something in return for what they want or that they will, as they often do, find a way to get something without really having to give? More importantly, does the Egyptian foreign minister trust that all 22 member states of the Arab League will stick to the peace-before- normalisation principal that they signed on in their official meetings, or that some will do the usual behind-closed doors deals? Abul-Gheit smiles: "Let us observe what will unfold in the upcoming weeks."
