The Wall Street Journal published today an op-ed from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the future of the peace process. Amidst false claims regarding the success of Egypt as a peace broker, Mubarak asserts the need for Israel to make a few concessions while the Palestinians must obtain a unity government.
The piece, and Egyptian stance on negotiations, boils down to one paragraph:
“Success of these negotiations will depend on firm commitments from both sides to uphold the credibility of the process. Israel’s relentless settlement expansion, which has seriously eroded the prospects for a two-state solution, must cease, together with its closure of Gaza. For their part, the Palestinians must continue to develop their institutional capacity while overcoming their division to achieve their aspirations for statehood.”
Mandating that Israel end the closure on Gaza without any security considerations will not occur and remains unrealistic. Until Egypt can successfully and effectively prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip, Israel has no choice but to continue its blockade on the Strip.
Moreover, Egypt sponsored reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas have repeatedly failed and Egypt cannot claim success on that front. Encouraging reconciliation is the first and easiest step towards achieving a Palestinian unity government. Imposing demands and penalizing the players for failing to unite remains a much more difficult task, one in which Egypt has failed. However, Mubarak is in quite a difficult position, as Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak’s chief domestic opposition.
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