Israel cool on Danish Middle East plans

Date: 12/09/02

By Khaled Diab

THE latest EU initiative to kick-start the Middle East peace process with a step-by-step programme culminating in the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005 has received a cool reception from Israel because of what it calls the 'unrealistic' timeframe.

The plan, which was put forward by the Danish presidency, would work in three phases: implementation of security measures; Palestinian political reforms; and final status negotiations to draw up borders and settle the thorny issuee of refugees.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller shuttled around the Middle East last week to present the Union's road map for bringing peace to the region, where some 2,000 Palestinians and 600 Israelis have been killed in the past two years.

The plan, approved at the recent informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Elsinore, seeks to address Israeli concerns and Palestinian national aspirations simultaneously.

'It is necessary through parallel progress on security, economic and political matters to strengthen the Palestinians' faith that an independent state is within reach and Israel's faith that they can finally achieve security within their own borders,' Moller said.

The text, which incorporates elements from existing international efforts, was welcomed by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his allies in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

'This initiative is a positive development because it sets a clear agenda with targets, and sets out clearly the rights of the two sides,' Chawki Armali, the Palestinian Authority's representative in Brussels, said.

'But the question remains, as with former initiatives, whether Israel will accept it.'

Attempts by previous EU presidents to mediate in the conflict have been blocked by Israel, which prefers mediation by the

US rather than the Union, that has been accused in the past of bias in favour of the Palestinians and even anti-semitism.

While not rejecting the plan outright, as well as its reservations about the proposed timeframe Israel believes reform will not be on the agenda if Arafat is returned to power in elections slated for January.

Matters would be made worse if Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, were to win major success.

Despite a lull in Palestinian violence, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refused to be pinned down on the EU plan.

'Instead of timetables, we'd like to see the fixing of benchmarks on the ground,' an Israeli diplomat told European Voice, adding that the proposals did not focus enough on security issues.

Moller argues that it is impossibile for the Palestinians to carry out the insitutional reforms demanded by the international community and curtail suicide bombings without having a clear goal to for which to strive.

'We're required to make a slew of reforms but no clear demands are made of the Israelis,' Armali said, echoing the Dane.

The full significance of Moller's tour of the Middle East remains unclear.

The EU says that any action it takes will be in collaboration with its 'quartet' partners, the US, United Nations and Russia.

The quartet is next due to meet in New York on Tuesday (17 September).

Most commentators expect little progress to be made.

'The entire situation is being overshadowed at the moment by Iraq,' said Eberhard Rhein, senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre.

The latest European Union initiative to kick-start the Middle East peace process with a step-by-step programme culminating in the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005 has received a cool reception from Israel because of what it calls the 'unrealistic' timeframe.