Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
Progress on Negotiations
Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni resumed peace talks on March 17 after PA President Mahmoud Abbas temporarily suspended negotiations following an Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip. However, Qureia downgraded the talks to “unofficial” status to protest recent Israeli construction plans in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Low-level meetings took place during the suspension, but the recent renewal of talks did not include full working groups. An Israeli official stated the two sides have made “considerable progress” in negotiations in recent weeks. On March 19, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat expressed concern that the PA government might fall if it is unable to reach an agreement.
U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney met with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on March 23-24 during his trip to the region. Cheney reiterated President Bush’s commitment to reaching a deal by the end of the 2008 and emphasized that continued effort and mutual concessions will be necessary for an agreement. He also singled out Hamas, Syria and Iran for trying to derail an agreement. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit the region this coming weekend.
Progress on Road Map Implementation
Movement and Access
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said he will not remove checkpoints in the West Bank at this point in time. However, Barak stated that Israel is working to make crossing through checkpoints easier and may lift temporary roadblocks, open a VIP lane and allow Palestinian businessmen screened by Israel’s Shin Bet to cross without inspection.
Unauthorized Outposts
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon criticized Israel’s delay dismantling unauthorized outposts as harming its relations with the United States. At the same time, top Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia has pushed for greater U.S. pressure on Israel on unauthorized outposts. A recent Israeli court case has shown how Israeli settlers take land illegally in the West Bank by local settlement councils allocating the “abandoned lands” to settlers who then receive protection over the land from Israeli security forces.
Settlements
On March 17 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated, “We are building in Jerusalem because everyone knows that there is no chance the state of Israel will give up neighborhoods like Har Homa. … It’s an inseparable part of Jerusalem.” His remarks drew sharp criticism from Palestinian negotiators and seemed to disregard previous U.S. criticism on the issue.
Security Cooperation
U.S. road map monitors have criticized recent PA counterterrorism efforts as only attempting to contain terrorism rather than dismantle terrorist organizations. Monitors would like to see the PA conduct all aspects of counterterrorism operations including arrest, interrogation and trial of suspected members and the eradication of armed wings of terrorist organizations.
Security cooperation has been strained since the terror attack on Jerusalem’s Mercaz Harav Yeshiva on March 7 and Israel’s assassination of four Palestinian terrorist leaders in Bethlehem on March 12. However, Israel will allow up to 600 PA security forces to deploy to Jenin after they complete a U.S.-funded training program in Jordan. PA officials claim that they do not need additional forces in Jenin and that they retain the right and ability to deploy forces where necessary. The Washington Post reported that security forces training in Jordan are under-equipped, under-funded and delayed by disagreements between Israel and the United States over the capacity of the forces. Israel and Russia recently agreed to send 25 armored vehicles to the West Bank to bolster security, though mounted machine guns were removed after Israeli criticism.
On March 14, German Chancellor Merkel confirmed that Germany planned to hold a security conference in Berlin in June, which will focus on strengthening Palestinian security forces. Expected attendees include Israeli and Palestinian officials, Quartet Special Envoy Tony Blair, representatives of the EU, EU member states and several Arab countries.
Gaza
Largely due to Egyptian mediation efforts, there has been a lull in fighting in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel. Three weeks ago Egypt reached an agreement with Hamas to stop firing rockets for a week-long trial. Israel responded by saying that it would reciprocate any lessening of hostilities by Hamas. Both sides have kept their pledges to this point. However, there has been occasional violence between Israel and other groups in Gaza including Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).
Regional Efforts
Egypt has stepped forward as an arbiter between Israel and Hamas. As part of these efforts it is constructing a more permanent deal that will include a ceasefire in Gaza, increased Egyptian anti-smuggling efforts, a Hamas share in the Rafah border crossing and Palestinian Authority control over other Gaza border crossings. Reports have surfaced that a deal has been reached, which Israel denies. However, Egypt and Israel have reached a tentative deal for Egypt to become the main electricity supplier to Gaza.
In addition, Yemen is involved in regional efforts to broker an agreement between Hamas and Fatah. On March 23, Fatah and Hamas representatives signed a Yemeni-sponsored deal to revive direct talks. Soon after the signing a disagreement arose with Abbas’ office saying that the talks should focus on implementing the Yemeni plan. Hamas rejects this statement and believes that the plan should be used as a framework for dialogue.
Progress of Palestinian Economic Development
The United States recently released $150 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority for governmental expenses and the European Commission released $463 million for infrastructure, economic programs and refugees. The World Bank warns that such aid will be ineffective without the removal of checkpoints in the West Bank. Blair, who has worked extensively on Palestinian economic development projects, has stressed that the peace process is “a race against time” and that tangible progress must be made soon. Blair will host the Palestine Investment Conference from May 21-23 in Bethlehem as a follow-up to the December donor conference. This conference will focus on development of and investment in the Palestinian economy.
For previous updates on “Keeping Track of Commitments,” see the editions on March 14, February 27, January 30 and January 18.
