From

At the start of his gulf tour and at the conclusion of his visit to Saudi Arabia, Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee Mahmoud Abbas 'Abu Mazen' announced that the Palestinian leadership proposed during its international and Arab contacts holding an international conference in Cairo to solve the Palestinian cause and implement the roadmap. He added: Britain seems enthusiastic to hold this conference while the U.S. is hesitant about it.

Five days later, December 21, AFP News Agency published statements by US President George Bush in which he talked about a project of British PM Tony Blair for holding a conference to assist the Palestinians. One day before Blair's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Bush said: I appreciate the readiness of British PM to assist in the peace process through holding a conference with the Palestinians towards the establishment of a state. He added: We will work with the Palestinians to develop the necessary structures that can allow the emergence of democracy.

It seems clear from the statements of President Bush that he gave his own interpretation of the British proposal in a manner that does not talk about holding an international conference, but a conference to assist the Palestinians and rehabilitate them so that they can earn a state!

When Blair made his visit to Israel on December 22, he showed understanding to the Israeli position on not attending the conference and later he announced during his visit to the PA that there are steps that must be implemented before returning to the roadmap. He explained the mission of the London Conference in the following way: to discuss the reforms in the PA and assist in developing the Palestinian institutions towards the establishment of a viable state.

This means that the London Conference will devote its works to discuss the Palestinian internal affair without any linkage with the political dimensions pertaining to the solving of the Palestinian cause.

Thus, Abu Mazen expressed his reservations regarding the agenda of this conference when he said: We were hoping to have a broader agenda that includes major disagreements with Israel over Jerusalem, the fate of the Palestinian refugees and the borders of the Palestinian state.

As mentioned above, it is clear that the content and agenda of the London Conference cause deep fears and concerns, mainly that the conference seeks to promote a non-political and non-practical tool meaning to rehabilitate the Palestinian side and link the Israeli separation plan with the roadmap, and Bush and Blair, who proposed the idea of the conference, admitted to that effect. Therefore, and under the pretext of rehabilitating and assisting the Palestinian side to develop a democratic structure, the conference will grant the government of Sharon the time necessary to implement the separation plan without any political conditions that can link between the plan and progress towards a comprehensive solution of the Palestinian cause.

The conference might also contribute towards better opportunities for a long term interim solution in the form of a state with temporary borders as a necessary means to reach the required rehabilitation and to recruit international and Arab parties to promote this solution.

In addition to the statements of Sharon's office director Dov Weisglass who said that the separation plan will freeze the comprehensive political solution, there are also the statements of Sharon who said that 'the separation plan will be implemented in any case'. What raises more concern is the statement of Major General Giora Eyland who is in charge of implementing the plan; he said: the Israeli government will not negotiate with the Palestinians on the separation plan but might coordinate with them. When we tackle the economic issues, we will conduct negotiations with the Palestinians.

What does this mean? It means that the Israeli security solution or the separation plan is a unilateral plan and not a negotiated solution and will remain that way, but Israel might accept transforming it into a multilateral solution upon implementing its economic and security aspects. So, if some Arab and foreign countries and the World Bank express interest in the economic conditions of the Palestinians, they can then interfere but only after the implementation of the separation plan.

Thus, we have the right to ask: what is the use of rehabilitating the Palestinian people and building democratic structures before the establishment of the state as long as Israel imposes the status quo policies and as long as Israel strips the state of its sovereignty and reduces its area and annexes basic parts of it and violates the sanctity of its capital? We are wondering about the value of holding London Conference as long as Israel continues its occupation policies and implements what it wants, anytime its wants!!!

Therefore, the Palestinian side expressed its deep fears all the time regarding the separation plan, affirming that the way out of this is through getting a binding international commitment, mainly from US and the European countries, towards the holding of an international conference immediately after implementing the separation plan to discuss all issues of the final status and reach a settlement that can meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people with regards to the establishment of their state and solving the problem of their refugees according to Resolution 194 and all this should be according to an agreed upon timetable.

There is also the need for Israeli concrete steps in the West Bank in parallel with the implementation of the separation plan that go beyond the redeployment from four isolated settlements in northern West Bank, mainly the halt of works in the separation wall and the dismantlement of all settlement outposts and freezing settlements, which should include what is Israel calls 'for natural growth purposes' and halt all Israeli schemes to erect the so-called 'transportation continuity' inside the West Bank, such as the alternative roads, and other measures in the city of Jerusalem.

Thus, the London Conference goals and agenda will not lessen the Palestinian fears but will deepen them; the Palestinian leadership has to deal with this matter with utmost seriousness before taking any uncalculated step that might complicate matters more.

Note: This article was written before the presidential elections Palestinian.



--Hanna Amireh is a memebr of the PLO executive committee.