Shuttle Diplomacy Begins Foreign Envoys Gather in Middle East
To make things easier for its readers, the Israeli daily Haaretz created an information graphic explaining which top diplomats were traveling to the Middle East as well as the mission they were representing. An attempt to bring order and structure to the many efforts on the diplomatic front in the Gaza war.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is heading the array of leaders looking for a special role in Mideast diplomacy. "France holds a special responsibility because it has succeeded in creating a band of trust with all those involved," he said as he departed for the Middle East on Monday. After a first discussion with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Sarkozy energetically stated he wanted a cease-fire "as fast as possible," and he appealed to the conscience of the two parties in conflict. "Hamas acted in an irresponsible and unforgiveable manner," he added, before saying he would tell Israeli President Shimon Perez and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the "violence must stop."
Of course, it's unlikely Sarkozy will succeed in persuading Olmert. On Monday afternoon, the official delegation of the European Union appeared at a photo op with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU chief diplomat Javier Solana as well as the foreign ministers of Sweden and the Czech Republic, Carl Bildt and Karel Schwarzenberg, had just met with Livni. But the Israeli foreign minister said the battle against Hamas would continue. "When Israel is attacked, it will retaliate,' she said. Schwarzenberg, whose country currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, later spoke, tellingly, of a "very open and frank discussion."
Like Sarkozy, EU negotiators had earlier paid a visit to Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, where Schwarzenberg called for the opening of the borders to Gaza. "It is intolerable that all the crossings are closed," he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke to Mubarak by phone on Monday. On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to dispatch his Middle East envoy directly to the crisis zone.
Diplomatic Initiatives Begin
Although Israel's battle against the radical-Islamist Hamas in Gaza Strip has now entered into its 10th day, the international community only moved in the past few days to try to bring a political resolution to the crisis.
Last week, the United States rejected a resolution in the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire. The Europeans and even the major Arab states also hesitated, and the pressure applied to Israel to stop the war was at best light. Calls for Hamas to stop its rocket fire also seemed forced.
But there now appears to be progress, and over the weekend the shuttle diplomacy began. Calls for a cease-fire are getting louder and more numerous. France and Russia, both veto-wielding powers on the Security Council, have demanded a cessation of the violence, and Britain has too.
For its part, Israel has indicated it might be willing to act more cooperatively than it has up until now with its absolute rejection of calls for a cease-fire -- at least if certain conditions are met. Insiders say that three conditions must be fulfilled before Israel would be willing to end its offensive.
- Hamas must stop firing its rockets
- It cannot use the cease-fire in order to rearm itself
- An international committee would monitor adherence to the agreement
It's questionable whether Israel can succeed with a fourth demand, namely that Hamas not be allowed a place at the table in negotiations for a cease-fire.
According to a report in Haaretz, Olmert's government wants to negotiate the terms of a cease-fire with Egypt and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which would then convey the deal to Hamas. Israeli Foreign Minister Livni already hinted at this prospect in her meeting with her French colleague Kouchner. She said that no legitimacy of any kind could be bestowed on Hamas by renewing the cease-fire.
Itamar Eichner, a journalist with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, called her comments "wishful thinking," adding that it remained an open question whether Livni's demands would be met. On Monday, a Hamas delegation traveled to Cairo to drum up support. Egypt had already served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas in talks over the previous cease-fire agreement that ended two weeks ago.
"Things Have Begun"
The man who could stand to profit the most from the current situation is Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who would like nothing more than to see Hamas removed and himself back in power in Gaza. Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a violent overthrow of the Palestinian Authority in 2007, President Abbas's rule has been limited to the West Bank.
Egypt is now proposing an opening of its borders to Gaza so that Israel would no longer have the possibility of completely sealing off the Gaza Strip -- one of the key demands being made by Hamas. The condition, however, would be that the border crossing in Rafah be controlled by Abbas' Palestinian Authority forces. Abbas, of course, supports the proposal and it could be interpreted as an attempt to boot out his rival and profit politically from the cease-fire. His chess play is already drawing criticism in the West Bank.
On Tuesday, Abbas is expected to meet with UN representatives in New York to sound out the possibility of a cease-fire. He will find plenty of goodwill there, too. The UN has long wanted to transfer power in Gaza from Hamas back to the Palestinian Authority. Robert Serry, the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, made that clear last week when he said that Gaza must be returned to the fold of Abbas' Palestinian Authority, and new efforts must be made to reunite Gaza and the West Bank.
Substance and Concrete Ideas "Still Lacking"
Progress has also been made on other diplomatic fronts. In an interview with the BBC, for example, EU chief diplomat Solana offered to send European observers to monitor adherence to the cease-fire agreement.
"Things have begun," said Nicolas Pelham of the International Crisis Group think tank in Jerusalem. But he was also critical, saying that the international diplomatic efforts still lacked "substance and concrete ideas that can be implemented"
The Haaretz graphic gives an idea of the many different international attempts at mediation, but even that doesn't make clear which envoys are en route and what authority they have vested in them.