Global Policy Forum

By Aluf Benn

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday set a new landmark in the peace process: the first time a Palestinian leader has ever openly visited the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Even during the heyday of the Oslo process, there were no such visits. Sharon's predecessors preferred to meet Yasser Arafat at the Erez checkpoint between Israel and Gaza - a neutral, and distant, location - or in private houses and in the dead of night. Inviting Arafat to Jerusalem was inconceivable. But yesterday, a Palestinian prime minister visited Sharon, with all the symbols of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem in full view and in the full glare of the sun and the cameras' lenses.

Both sides made every effort to create a positive atmosphere and avoid arguments. Sharon and Abu Mazen coordinated their public statements in advance. The press was not allowed to ask questions, which could have exposed disputes. There were also no flags on display, "to avoid offending the Palestinians," a senior Israeli source said.

Sharon made an uncharacteristically emotional speech that focused on the dream of peace and omitted his standard list of demands from the Palestinians. Abu Mazen also expressed his commitment to peace, but he did make demands - first and foremost, prisoner releases. Nevertheless, he avoided controversial issues such as the settlements or the security fence, and he even eschewed all mention of the Palestinian cease-fire so as not to provoke criticism from Israeli ministers. Both premiers praised the United States for its efforts, and rightly so: without President George W. Bush's unrelenting pressure on both sides, the meeting would never have occurred.

The meeting was proposed Monday by Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, who said they ought to exploit the positive momentum created by the transfer of security authority in Gaza. His Palestinian counterpart liked the idea, and together, they quickly made the arrangements.

For Sharon, the meeting's purpose was to give an aura of public support to the diplomatic process, since the agreements on an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Bethlehem had been reached in smoke-filled rooms. Prior to the meeting, one Israeli minister who attended commented: "At Aqaba, I felt like we were making history - and now, it's routine." He then added: "It is doubtful that the agreement will hold up, but we have to try." After the meeting, however, the tone changed, and for the first time, even the Prime Minister's Office sounded less skeptical. People there spoke of Abu Mazen's moving speech and his courage, of Mohammed Dahlan's sangfroid and seriousness.

The resumption of the peace process and his frequent handshakes with Abu Mazen have also ended Sharon's international isolation. This month he will visit London, and from there he will make his first trip to Norway.

Bush, Sharon and Abu Mazen have succeeded in reawakening hopes for an end to the conflict and a return to the diplomatic process. Nevertheless, speeches like those heard yesterday were also heard in the not-so-distant past. The joint committees whose establishment was announced yesterday have also operated in the past, without notable success, and the Israel Defense Forces have also left Gaza before. It will still require a great deal of effort and mutual faith to make the Aqaba process take off instead of collapsing like its predecessor did.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.