Roadmap for ME peace

There is a positive dimension to the latest developments in the Middle East. Israel's acceptance of the US-backed roadmap for peace through creation of a Palestinian homeland should clear the course for talks to begin in quest of a durable solution to the Middle East crisis. But the conditions laid down by the Israeli cabinet stands in contrast to the Palestinian prime minister's acceptance of the roadmap without any preconditions. So, it may not be a smooth drive to the destination. While officially recognising for the first time the right to Palestinian statehood, Israelis deny the Palestinian refugees their right to return to their homes which they had abandoned during the Middle East war in the late forties. Perhaps the worry about the state's Jewish character to be challenged is still plaguing the Israeli government.

Nonetheless, Tel Aviv's acceptance of the plan, though grudgingly, does mark Israeli government's formal endorsement of the possibility for a solution through dialogues. That signifies the breaking of an impasse. Basically it should pave the way for a three-way summit next month between US President George W Bush, Mr Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Here we would like to point out that Israel until now has been taking their decisions on the basis of its close ties with the US which the Palestinian leadership lacked. They had been the aggrieved party all along in the crisis and they had reasons to feel that way. They neither had their own solid strength nor any powerful backing. At the summit we would expect the Palestinians to negotiate not from a position of weakness but from that of strength.

Though the core issues like gradual withdrawal of Israeli military from areas occupied by them over the past three years and freezing of all settlement expansion in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were not properly addressed in the cabinet, but Mr. Sharon's realisation that "time has come to divide this land between us and Palestinians" should be welcomed by everyone concerned. Yet, what we fail to understand is why Israel's as many as fourteen reservations on the roadmap are being closely kept 'secrets.' There should be transparency in the whole process. The Palestinian side has publicly accepted the roadmap; the Israelis should also place all their cards on the table.

We hope there will be a new approach for genuine peace in the region, one that is shorn of hypocrisy and geo-political muscle-flexing.