|
|
November 24, 2000/Heshvan 26, 5761, Vol. 53, No.9
Egypt recalls diplomats in protest
DAVID LANDAU
and NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - Egypt has become the latest Arab country to take diplomatic action against Israel because of the ongoing violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In a sudden turn from its role of mediator in the regional conflict, Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel on Nov. 21.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa cited "Israeli aggression" for the decision, adding that it reflected Cairo's "extreme displeasure" with the way Israel was treating the Palestinians.
Egypt's announcement came one day after Israel launched missile strikes on Gaza City to retaliate for a deadly terror attack hours before on an Israeli school bus elsewhere in Gaza.
The planned departure of Egypt's longtime envoy in Israel, Mohammed Basiouny, leaves no Arab representatives remaining in the Jewish state.
Jordan, the only Arab country besides Egypt to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, has delayed sending its newly appointed ambassador to Tel Aviv to protest what it also sees as Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.
The ongoing violence has also prompted Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and Oman to sever the low-level economic links that each established with Israel during more promising times in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Egypt's recall of Basiouny caught the Israeli Foreign Ministry by surprise and prompted diplomatic scrambling to understand its implications.
The last time Egypt recalled its ambassador was during Israel's 1982 war in Lebanon.
The change in atmosphere has been as swift.
Indeed, over the weekend, the situation had looked relatively promising.
Nov. 17, Arafat ordered Palestinian gunmen to stop firing at Israelis from Palestinian-ruled areas.
Some Israeli army officers were skeptical, saying it was possible Arafat had given implicit approval for Palestinians to shoot from areas under Israeli control.
This criticism, however, seemed for a time to be disproved by events on the ground.
Israel Defense Force commanders throughout the West Bank and Gaza noticed a drop in the number and intensity of shooting incidents following Arafat's announcement.
True, one serious episode took place in Gaza on Nov. 18, when a Palestinian police officer attacked an army installation, killing two soldiers before he himself was shot dead by Israeli troops.
But apart from that, the violence appeared to be subsiding.
At the same time, the diplomatic track seemed to pick up in intensity.
U.S. Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross held separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, and signals from Washington suggested that Barak and Arafat had agreed that President Clinton try to convene another three-way summit sometime next month.
Optimists suggested that Clinton could cobble together an agreement that would award the Palestinians their state in more than 90 percent of the territories, with the issue of Jerusalem sovereignty left for subsequent negotiations.
Under this agreement, Israel would recognize the new state. The Palestinians, for their part, would pledge that the remaining issues would be resolved only by peaceful diplomatic means.
Now, after Israel's helicopter strike on Gaza City, the Palestinians' demand for the protection of a U.N. force has grown more strident.
With hopes of a return to the negotiating table dimmed again, attention is focusing on the imminent advent of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week.
Ramadan traditionally is a time of prayer.
But in the past weeks, Israel has barred all but elderly Palestinians from praying on Jerusalem's Temple Mount compound.
Experts say a continued policy of restricting entry could trigger further violence in Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank and Gaza.
|
