US Secretary Of States Again In The Middle East
News Agencies have reported that US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice arrived in the southern Egyptian town of Aswan at the start of a Middle
East tour to explore Arab and Israeli views on possible steps toward peace.
Just a few days before an Arab summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh,
Rice meets four Arab foreign ministers friendly toward the United States, from
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The summit will
confirm an Arab peace initiative launched in 2002 and initially rejected by
Israel because of its demand that Israel withdraw from all Arab land captured
in 1967.
Israel and the United States have recently shown some interest in
the Arab peace plan and Rice told reporters on Friday the Arab governments
could help by adding "active diplomacy" to the initiative. She also suggested
Arab governments take steps toward conciliation with Israel before an
Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is complete. Their peace plan offers normal
relations with Israel after Israel and the Palestinians make peace.
The secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, said on
Saturday that Arab states have no intention of modifying their initiative to
make it more palatable. After talks with the four Arab foreign ministers, known
as the Arab Quartet, Rice will meet the intelligence chiefs of the four Arab
countries, a State Department official said.
We have noted that Rice had been visiting the region off and on
with no effective result. The basic reason for this is asking always the Arabs
and the Palestinians for more concession. The Arabs have made unparalleled
concession and sacrifice; they have in principle given up their right over 78
percent of Palestinian land to mainly immigrant Jews already and only want a
state over the West Bank and Gaza which is about 22 percent of Palestinian land.
The US should stop asking the Palestinians to make more sacrifice
and genuinely implement the UN resolution of complete withdrawal from the West
Bank by Israel and other conditions of that resolution. The UN resolution was
taken 40 years ago and it has not been implemented because of failure of Israel
and US to implement it in right spirit .It is US which forced the UN to a
provision that 1967 border would be suitably adjusted for the security of
Israel. Here is the great problem created by the US and UN. No agreement is
possible between the two parties on this; in the meantime Israel has made
settlements all over West Bank and wants to keep them in the name of border
adjustments and other alibis.
We feel that no solution is possible by negotiation between the two
parties. The Un has to force Israel to leave West Bank within a definite
time-frame and if necessary the UN should take a new resolution dropping the
earlier provision regarding adjustment of borders for Israeli Security.
Security is not a matter of border but genuine agreement to live in
peace.(editorial of Asia Post, Dhaka,26.3.07 )
