BBC NEWS Gaza diplomacy starts to bear fruit by Paul Reynolds World affairs correspondent BBC News website
An effective diplomatic front has finally been opened in the Gaza conflict, raising hopes that a ceasefire might be near. If all goes well, it is possible that a deal might be in place by the time Barack Obama is sworn is as US president on Tuesday. But for that to happen, principles have to turned into practicalities. In the meantime the Israeli attacks continue, as would be expected, as Israel does not want to show any signs of weakness until a new agreement is finalised. Taking time Diplomacy has taken its time. It has had to wait until the Israelis were in a position to decide that their assault on Gaza had been effective in reducing Hamas to the point where it wanted to negotiate. That moment appeared to come closer on Wednesday with a statement by a Hamas spokesman in Cairo Salah al-Bardawi that a plan put forward by the Egyptians was acceptable "in its broad outlines". This was followed by the despatch to Egypt on Thursday of Israel's chief negotiator over Gaza, a veteran operative at the defence ministry, Amos Gilad. After his meeting with Egypt's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, Gilad will return home for further discussions with his political masters. Further shuttle visits are possible before the final details are agreed. Mark Regev, the Israeli prime minister's spokesman opened up the prospect of a ceasefire when he declared that Amos Gilad would discuss the "parameters of the endgame" with Egypt. The Egyptians are central to the ceasefire effort. With the help of the British and French, they got a ceasefire resolution through the Security Council, which was useful, even though the United States abstained. It provided a basis for taking detailed talks further. The resolution is also currently being pressed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region. However, the key talks are in Cairo and central to them is Omar Suleiman, who was instrumental in putting together the original ceasefire last June and is now trying to stitch it back together. The Egyptian plan is reported to cover the main elements of what both sides want. Hamas would have to agree not to fire any more rockets into Israel and, crucially from the Israeli point of view, practical steps would have to be taken along the Egyptian border with Gaza to stop the smuggling of weapons through tunnels. The main Hamas demands are for the removal of Israeli forces plus the opening of the border crossings. Israeli officials say they sense that many governments agree that the smuggling should stop and that one or two have offered ideas about how this might be done and what forces would monitor it. The sequence of events is a key element of the negotiation. # When, for example, would the ceasefire come into effect and when would Israelis forces leave? # Would the agreement be implemented in stages? # What about the mechanisms for stopping the tunnelling and opening the borders? Egypt has proposed that its border with Gaza be re-opened under the conditions agreed in 2005 with the Palestinian Authority which is controlled by Fatah, Hamas' rival, which could prove tricky. Who won? And then the question will be asked: Who won? Israel's only clearly-stated objective was to stop the rocket attacks. If it achieves that, it can claim some success. If there was an agenda to destroy Hamas, it was not stated (as it was over Hezbollah in Lebanon), so, on that point, the Israeli government will avoid the results being compared to the objective. As for Hamas, no doubt it will declare victory in any case. But the credibility of that claim will become apparent only in a few months time and depends on whether it is able to re-arm. paul.reynolds-inter...@bbc.co.uk Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7830333.stm Published: 2009/01/15 11:38:26 GMT © BBC MMIX Print Sponsor --------------- Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
