Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003
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By Atul Aneja
Mr. Suleiman, who has earlier played a crucial role to thrash out a common understanding among Palestinian groups for dealing with Israelis, is expected to bring new proposals with him. His effort to see all Palestinians initially agreeing to a ceasefire is likely to be capped by a meeting later this week between the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, and the extremist groups — Hamas and Islamic Jihad.Mr. Suleiman is also expected to meet the Israeli authorities during his stay. Observers say that Mr. Suleiman's visit is being taken seriously as the Egyptians, who are in touch with both the Americans and the Israelis, are well-positioned to catalyse a thaw. The Hamas leadership has recently indicated that the group was ready for a dialogue, but has insisted that success in talks would bear fruit only if the Israelis stopped constructing a security wall separating Palestinian territories and ceased construction of illegal settlements. Significantly, the intelligence chief's visit has been preceded by a meeting on Sunday of the National Security Council, a key Palestinian body presided over by the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, and in which Mr. Qurei was also a participant. The Security Council said new directions would be issued after Mr. Qurei's talks in Gaza which aimed at "fulfilling Palestinian commitments in accordance with the road map" concluded. Mr. Suleiman's visit comes at a time when the policy of Israel's right-wing coalition towards Palestinians has been seriously questioned, and there are signs that more Israelis are veering towards what has been described as the "peace camp." Four former chiefs of the Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, had recently declared that the current policy of the Sharon regime towards Palestinians was heading Israel towards a "catastrophe". Two weeks ago, the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Moshe Yaalon, who otherwise has a reputation of being a "hardliner", also openly said that the current official policy towards the Palestinians was counter-productive. Apart from the dissonance in the Israeli security establishment, two unofficial peace plans, worked out jointly by Israelis and Palestinians, have found a wide following. Copies of the "Geneva accords", which go into details of a possible final peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, are being mass circulated in Israel from this week onwards. Around 150,000 people have signed in their support for "People's Voice", a peace initiative steered by Ami Ayalon, the former head of the Shin Bet, and Sari Nusseibeh, the President of Al-Quds University. Analysts, however, said the shifting public mood had so far not made a dent on official thinking in Israel. In the words of the English daily Haaretz, "the political constellation necessary for translating these positive developments into real political momentum has yet to coalesce". Some Palestinian commentators have also said that a substantial shift in Israeli policy towards Palestinians can come only after the exit of the Sharon Government.
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