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September 6, 2002/Elul 29 5762, Vol. 55, No. 1
Palestinians distribute propaganda at summit
MICHAEL BELLING
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JOHANNESBURG - The focus of Palestinian efforts at the U.N. World Summit on Sustainable Development is clear from a quick visit to the booth reserved for Palestinian nongovernmental organizations.
A visitor can find plenty of material on the Israeli "occupation" of land the Palestinians claim, as well as the anti-Israel tirades that the Palestinians have made a staple of international conferences in recent years.
What the visitor cannot find is any material related to the ostensible purposes of the conference - environmental affairs and sustainable development.
Unless, that is, you include the materials detailing Israel's alleged assault on the Palestinian environment.
According to Palestinian propaganda, Israel uproots some 700,000 trees per year in Palestinian areas, or an average of about one tree a minute.
Another handout carries unsubstantiated charges against Israel for environmental destruction, while a third accuses Israel of destroying a "forest" to build the Har Homa neighborhood in southern Jerusalem - referring to the patch of trees that Israel leveled to clear the hilltop for development.
Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's environment minister, dismissed the Palestinian allegations of Israeli environmental destruction as absurd.
One local Jewish observer commented that it appears the Palestinians simply tagged a few environmental details onto their existing political material.
But if the Palestinians had hoped to reprise their "success" in turning last year's U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban into an anti-Israel fair, they haven't succeeded in Joh-annesburg.
Their protests at this year's summit have been peripheral to the main business of the conference, which is seeking solutions to issues such as global warming and overuse of natural resources.
While accusations of Israeli apartheid struck a chord with participants at last year's anti-racism conference, it's more of a stretch to tie Israeli policy toward the Palestinians to environmental degradation.
In addition, embarrassed by its handling of the Durban conference, South Africa this year has restrained pro-Palestinian demonstrators, removing them by force when they tried to disrupt Israeli events in the conference's first days and blasting them with water cannons on Sept. 2 when they tried to prevent a speech by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
In stark contrast to the Palestinians' efforts, Israeli officials have taken a calculatedly mild line, stressing the need to turn away from conflict and toward cooperation. When Palestinian groups sought to shout them down, Israeli officials spoke of resuming the peace process.
The centerpiece of the Israeli presentation at the summit was the joint announcement, with Jordan, of a plan to replenish the Dead Sea with water from the Red Sea - showing how those interested in peace could benefit from cooperation.
A technical team from the Jewish National Fund gave a presentation on the use of scarce water resources, rehabilitation of degraded areas in the Negev, sustainable biodi-versity and ecological forest renewal.
Governmental representatives from the United States, Germany and Oman - as well as NGOs - expressed an interest in learning more, JNF chairman Yehiel Leket said.
As a pioneer in agricultural advances that have helped make its deserts bloom, Israel believes an environmental summit is one forum where it can make a unique contribution.
"We can contribute our successful experience in many areas, relating to solar heating, making run-off water fit for agriculture and irrigation - and our technology that enables us to get it up to the standard of drinking water - the struggle against desertification and many more" areas, Hanegbi told JTA.
Just yards away from the booth of Palestinian propaganda, the JNF booth had detailed material on its contributions over the past century.
"Our line here is that we are not involved in politics and do not want to get drawn into politics," Leket told JTA. "We have much to share on sustainable development. So far we have managed to keep it that way. Coming here only as a professional body has borne fruit."
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