'The intent is there, but...'

by George S. Hishmeh

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration suffered additional setbacks this week in its foreign policy pursuits over and above the Philippine government's decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq to save from death a Filipino hostage held by militants there and the take-over by the Democratic Party's presidential aspirant, John Kerry, of the lead in a nationwide opinion poll against President George W. Bush.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the hand-picked US ally, said in a newspaper interview this week that Afghanistan's private militias had become the country's greatest danger - greater than the Taleban insurgency - and that new action was required to disarm them. Now that persuasion had failed, he told The New York Times, "the stick has to be used, definitely".

Another US ally, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has received a serious blow to his country's standing following the non-binding decision last week of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague that the "apartheid wall" or "separation wall" should be dismantled.

Washington, much to the disappointment of many in the Palestinian peace camp, repeated its view that the United Nations' top court was not the "appropriate forum to resolve what is a political issue". The White House spokesman went on to suggest that "the roadmap is the way to get to that solution, the two-state vision that the president outlined". But Washington has not taken one serious step in this direction and it is unlikely to do so in the months ahead during the neck-and-neck presidential competition between Kerry and Bush, especially when both seem to be eyeing the influential Jewish vote.

Despite the Bush administration's unflinching support, the hawkish Israeli leader remains in deep water at home and his only way out seems to be in inviting the Labour Party of Shimon Peres to join his shaky coalition. Whether he succeeds or not, the emerging coalition will have to come face-to-face with the obvious: a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians and an end to its occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, now in its 37th year, is the only way out of this morass.

As a matter of fact, the international court's legal finding goes beyond the wall and meets in many ways Palestinian objectives. The non-binding decision put an end to the senseless argument about whether the Palestinian territories were occupied or disputed; thereby, the Israeli annexation of Arab East Jerusalem and the tens of settlements are in fact an illegal, belligerent act of the military occupation. More importantly, the Fourth Geneva Convention was seen as applicable to the occupied territories.

Whatever the UN General Assembly might do next, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has already echoed the international court's finding and decision to dismantle the barrier, thus lending moral authority to the ruling.

"I think the decision of the court is clear," he said. "While we accept that the government of Israel has a responsibility and duty to protect its citizens, any action it takes has to be in conformity with international law and has to respect the interests of the Palestinians."

Although the American position is well known, and it is unlikely to deviate from the White House parameters, especially during an election year, it remains to be seen whether the international community can be bold enough to differ with the Bush administration and stand up and be counted in defence of international legality. If not, this would be a good time for the international community to give muscle to serious efforts to reach a negotiated settlement that could have the blessings of the United Nations.

The stalemate over the Sharon plan for a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has apparently contributed to hopes that this plan could be expanded into a multilateral undertaking. A recent poll conducted jointly by a Palestinian and an Israeli group showed that 90 per cent of the Israelis and 79 per cent of the Palestinians favour a mutual cessation of violence. If achieved, a press release from the Palestine Centre for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah said that 72 per cent of the Palestinians and 80 per cent of the Israelis support long-range reconciliation between the two peoples. The intent is apparently there, but that alone is not enough to start the ball rolling.

This article appeared in the Friday-Saturday, July 16-17, 2004 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.