|
|
February 11, 2005/Adar 12 5765, Volume 57, No. 24
Summit inspires hope
Israelis, Americans share cautious optimism
HANK NEYER
Contributing Editor
DINA KRAFT
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Art Weisberg has a grandson who will soon enter the Israel Defense Forces. Weisberg, a 74-year-old Phoenix resident, greeted the news of the cease-fire signed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, on Feb. 8 with hope.
"These are words of encouragement, not dis-couragement," declared Weisberg. However, he added, "I'm not jumping up and down." But he said perhaps his grandson's term of service in the IDF "will not be as turbulent as it would have been before the summit."
Weisberg added, "No matter what paper is signed, all Israelis have to sleep with one eye opened."
Israelis are calling the Sharm el-Sheik summit "Summit of Hope" - hope that the speeches and handshakes really will signify the end of four-and-a- half years of bloodletting and despair.
"Tikvah," the Hebrew word for hope, was splashed in large bold letters on the front pages of Israel's newspapers Feb. 8, along with smiling photographs of Israeli Sharon and Abbas.
Reading quietly from prepared statements in their native languages, Sharon and Abbas tried to turn a new page at the summit, after the bloody years of the intifada.
"Today in my meeting with Chairman Abbas, we agreed the Palestinians would stop all acts of violence against Israelis everywhere, and in parallel, Israel would cease its military activity against the Palestinians everywhere," Sharon said. But Sharon also issued a warning, noting that terrorist groups have not acceded to the truce and have pledged only a temporary suspension of attacks.
"This is a very fragile opportunity, that the extremists will want to exploit. They want to close the window of opportunity for us and allow our two peoples to drown in their blood," he said.
Like Sharon, Abbas expressed misgivings - for example, Israel is unlikely to agree to Palestinian demands to release all Palestinian prisoners or dismantle its West Bank security fence - but hazarded a little optimism.
"For the first time in a long time, there exists in our region hope for a better future for our children and grandchildren," Abbas said.
Scottsdale resident M. Zuhdi Jasser, chairman of the board of directors of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, called the signing a step in the right direction, but said Abbas still "has a lot more to do." Jasser noted that Hamas quickly denounced the summit and said eventually both Hamas and Islamic Jihad must be "marginalized." He explained, "Peace will only happen when these terrorist organizations are, number one, disarmed, and their theology of radicalism is marginalized."
He called the Bush administration's appointment of an army general to help the Palestinians with security a "key ingredient." Jasser also praised Jordan and Egypt for getting involved, which means, he said, that "we're moving in the right direction."
In a goodwill gesture, Egypt and Jordan announced they would return ambassadors they had withdrawn from Israel after violence erupted in 2000.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who hosted the summit, pitched in with an appeal to "international legitimacy," diplomatic parlance for U.N. resolutions that the Arab world insists require complete Israeli withdrawal from territory conquered in the 1967 Six-Day War - a view at odds with the Israeli and American position, and as the historical record makes clear, even with the resolutions' stated intent.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who boosted hopes of a breakthrough with a whirlwind round of meetings with Sharon and Abbas earlier this week, struck a note of caution.
"Success is not assured, but America is resolute. This is the best chance for peace we are likely to see for some years to come - and we are acting to help Israelis and Palestinians seize this chance," she told reporters in Paris.
Also expressing caution was Scottsdale resident Devin Sper, a former member of the IDF and author of "The Future of Israel." Sper said the question is, "Is this a tactical cease-fire in order to give them time to rearm or is this going to be a strategic decision on the part of Palestinians that they really want to end terrorism and live in peace with Israel?
"It will be their actions in the next few weeks that will decide that."
JTA correspondent Dan Baron in Jerusalem contributed to this story.
|
|
