DECIDE, don’t discuss !

In the wake of the Arab summit, Dina Ezzat talks to Amr Mousssa on the prospects of a Middle East peace and reflects on the growing role of Saudi diplomacy in the region

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa says that negotiations, not dialogue, is what Israel can engage in with the Arabs

According to the rules of being secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa is in no position to talk to the Israelis — not as such anyway. But by virtue of his long career as an Egyptian diplomat, participating directly or indirectly in many if not most Egyptian — and for that matter Arab — talks and negotiations with Israel, Moussa, who still encounters the odd Israeli official on the fringe of international events, is well positioned to assess the chances of renewed Arab-Israeli talks aimed to target the endgame, especially on the Palestinian track. On the back of resolutions of the Arab summit that concluded in Riyadh last week, Moussa today has to work with Arab capitals — those with or without ties with Israel — to get the international community to lend tangible support to the Arab peace initiative adopted in 2002 and reinvigorated in Riyadh as a fair and durable settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This week, Moussa will be in touch with the foreign ministers of 13 Arab states: Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Algeria, Tunis, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and Morocco. These states are members of the so- called Arab Peace Initiative Committee. “I am going to call for a meeting at the ministerial level of the member states of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee to discuss moves we will make to implement the Arab summit resolution vis-à-vis the promotion of the initiative,” Moussa told Al-Ahram Weekly shortly after his return from Riyadh.

The mandate of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee is quite flexible. The tentative plan of action for the committee is to be divided into groups that will make contact with all concerned parties and bodies — including Israel by those Arab capitals that have diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv — with the aim of kick-starting a new peace process. “It is negotiations not dialogue that Israel can have with the Arabs. We are not interested in a mere dialogue. We want to negotiate an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories. We have to work on plans, not just meet and get our photos on the front-page of the newspapers,” Moussa insists, adding that, “we should not allow ourselves be taken for a ride or be trapped in a vicious circle of endless talks. This is for sure.”

Firm talk on the part of the secretary-general comes against a backdrop of a series of statements made by high-level Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, suggesting that Israel is in principal willing to discuss the Arab peace initiative but will exclude issues related to full withdrawal from territories occupied by Israel in 1967 and the right of return of Palestinian refugees forced out of their villages in 1948. For Moussa — though not necessarily for all Arab capitals, or certain Palestinian quarters for that matter — such statements are unacceptable. “When we say we want to negotiate, we say we want to negotiate on the basis of the Arab peace initiative which stipulates withdrawal from the occupied territories, the establishment of a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a fair and negotiated settlement to the question of refugees on the basis of UN resolutions,” Moussa said.

It is with this position in mind that Moussa seemed to shrug off statements made by Olmert during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Israel earlier this week when the Israeli prime minister called on Arab leaders — especially King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the initial force behind the Arab peace initiative — to meet him to discuss the prospects of peace. Moussa is also giving little obvious attention to similar, albeit less exaggerated, reactions made by Livni or Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

On the other hand, Moussa is not dismissing entirely the message — confused as he might see it — emanating from Israel before and after the Riyadh summit. For Moussa there is “a sort of timid or rather hesitant interest on the part of Israel in approaching the Arab peace initiative”. But, he says, “it is obvious that there is still no clear or coherent Israeli position. For us to recognise any new approach things will have to move beyond the political statements at press conferences.”

Moussa is concerned that the Israeli government has not yet realised what it will take to engage the Arabs. “They are still thinking of tactics that could open the door for free normalisation. They are still talking about form and not substance. And they are still hoping, or maybe thinking, that Arabs can always be fooled,” Moussa grins. “They need to realise that they will not get any of this. They need to realise that if they wish to be taken seriously by the Arab side they will have to move beyond statements of position, because this is not good enough.”

It is “action on the ground” that would qualify, according to Moussa, as a positive sign on the part of Israel. “What are we supposed to make of official statements [on peace talks] when we see the Israeli government pushing ahead with building illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territories, constructing the illegal wall that eats up Palestinian land and brings immense difficulty to the lives of many thousands of Palestinians, and conducting dangerous excavations at Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem?” Moussa asks.

“We are not sure about what Israel is ready to do or to what extent it is ready to go [in terms of negotiating the crucial issues],” says Moussa. When asked whether a shift in the Israeli position is possible, Moussa is cautious, seemingly unwilling to share his thoughts, or hopes, on that front. So why not explore? Is it impossible for some Arab leaders, or even Moussa, who is entrusted with the promotion of the Arab peace initiative, to meet with Olmert? What is there to loose in a one- off meeting? Should an official meeting on the prospects of peace necessarily be perceived as a sign of normalisation? Is it not dated for Arabs to reject Israeli invitations for talks?

For Moussa, all these questions boil down to one thing: What is the point of meeting with Olmert, or anybody else from the Israeli government, when no assurances are forthcoming that legitimate Arab rights will even be addressed? “Why should we meet? He has not really offered us anything. He says he wants to talk. Let him talk to the Palestinians, or let him talk to Egypt and Jordan who have diplomatic ties with Israel,” Moussa says.

The Arab League secretary-general adds that if Olmert is indeed keen on meeting select Arab leaders he will have to declare his willingness to negotiate on the basis of the Arab peace initiative. “If he has a clear position, then there could be a meeting. But without a clear declaration, Arabs are simply not interested in offering the kind of political normalisation that might only serve an internal [Israeli] political agenda. This is simply not going to happen. This is it.”

Yet again, Moussa is keen not to fully close the door. “If there is a process, then there could be meetings between Arabs and Israelis. And if there are negotiations, then there should be flexibility on both sides.” Concessions, in this instance, appears coded language for pragmatic border flexibility “on both sides and on the basis of the 4 June1967 borders”, provided any deal is guided by the principle of equity, and possible compensation “along side the right of return”, in lieu of repatriation, for refugees if accepted by the concerned Palestinian side. “We are willing to widen the small window of opportunity that we see being opened - if it is really being opened. But we are not going to give free concessions. I think that this phase is over.”

Are the Arabs doing enough to get the Israelis to move in the right direction? Are they engaging effectively key international players that can encourage such positive moves? “We are talking to all parties concerned and we are being clear about what we can do — that is to negotiate — and what we should not do — that is to go in vicious circles of inconclusive meetings and photo-ops. This has been our position as adopted by the Arab foreign ministers last summer after the Israeli war on Lebanon,” Moussa says.

Moussa adds that he has offered Washington a full explanation of the Arab position where he affirmed a genuine Arab will to proceed with negotiations if the Israelis are genuinely committed and if there is an honest broker who is able to mediate between positions without being a mere spokesman for the wishes or demands of Israel. Moussa also said that he and other concerned Arab foreign ministers would soon be in contact with crucial international players to communicate the determination of Arab countries to work “within a specific time frame and with an eye on the endgame” of reaching a settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Moussa hopes that the upcoming Arab diplomatic endeavour will lead to an international conference under the auspices of the UN and with the participation of all concerned parties, including Syria and Lebanon. Meanwhile, Moussa seems open to accommodate other meetings among some, though not necessarily all, concerned parties to start the ball rolling. Thus the secretary-general welcomes the upcoming meeting of the International Quartet (the US, Russia, the EU and UN) along with the Arab Quartet (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) early next month in Egypt to discuss ways of moving forward.

“I trust that such Arab groupings will be working in line with the Arab summit resolution and the text and spirit of the Arab peace initiative; these could be complementary efforts,” Moussa said. Asked about what some see as a declining Egyptian input on the peace process front, Moussa responded: “I do not think that Egypt can afford to reduce its input on the Palestinian question nor do I agree with those who argue that this is the case,” in an abrupt tone.

The “Quartet and Quartet” meeting will come shortly after the Arab Peace Initiative Committee would convene along clear guidelines of action and stances to be communicated to international players, especially US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who is personally committed, according to public statements, to augmenting prospects of Middle East peace on the Palestinian track.

For Rice to succeed, Moussa argues, the US secretary of state would need to distance herself from predictable Israeli demands. As such, Moussa is not particularly impressed by the demands made by Rice in March at the end of a Middle East tour where she called upon Arab countries to reach out to Israel. As far as Moussa is concerned, by offering and re- offering their initiative for peace Arabs have already taken enough positive steps. “Now it is time for Israel to reach out for peace. It is peace that should be the target and not the interest of one particular party,” Moussa said, adding: “Indeed, after four decades of Israeli occupation of Arab territories, Arabs cannot be expected to explore what Israel has to offer or reach out to Israel. It is Israel that has to make a credible and serious offer for peace.”

Moussa, therefore, is not willing to buy the argument that Olmert is too weak politically to make a peace proposal, or that Arab states, as the American side likes to argue, should support Olmert, making him capable of striking a peace deal. The argument goes that by further weakening Olmert Arabs may be confronted with a situation where hardliner, Likud member Binyamin Netanyahu returns as Israel’s prime minister. “Olmert is still the prime minister,” says Moussa, “and he is representing the will of his people.” Moussa adds that the Arabs are sick and tired of demands to encourage this or that Israeli prime minister: “we also need encouragement. Who said that we do not need encouragement?”

Frustrations aside, Moussa sees the wisdom of giving Rice a qualified chance to move things forward. “But we will not wait forever,” he says, “This has been made clear.” By July of this year, Moussa intends to call for a foreign ministers meeting of the Arab parties concerned and ask for a reassessment of the situation. “By July we would decide if things have been really moving forward or if it has been just a semblance of action with little or no results at all,” Moussa affirmed. “We are not going to allow ourselves to be trapped or fooled by much talk and little or no real movement.”

And what if the July assessment yields negative results? “We will cross that bridge when we reach it,” the Arab League secretary-general says. Moussa would not reveal what the Arab reaction would likely be, even if one were already visualised.