CAIRO, Jan 29: The Palestinians, who fear that the Iraq issue would derail the west Asia peace plans, plan to intensify their efforts for convening an Arab summit soon to discuss measures for withdrawal of Israeli troops from West Bank.Palestinian cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman said in Jerusalem, ``the Palestinians are in a difficult position and need to ask for help of their Arab brothers, especially now that it is obvious that the Israeli position is far from peace.''
He said the people were even more desperate for an early Arab summit after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat returned from Washington without any concrete solution. Arafat had earlier rejected a US proposal for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in return for a tougher Palestinian security crackdown. The Palestinians presently control only 27 per cent of West Bank. Israel has offered withdrawal from two per cent in the first stage and less than 10 per cent in the second and wants the third stage withdrawal to bescrapped.
Any troop withdrawal by Israel would depend on the implementation of various security demands, Tel Aviv has said. The Palestinians want the Arab world to play a bigger role in the showdown with Israel over the Israeli troops' pullback. Rahman said ``Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu might feel to proud to admit that he needs no economic and political relations with the Arab world, but Israeli businessmen know they do.'' Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath, another votary of pressure tactics on Israel, said they would intensify their efforts to get the summit convened.
Unfortunately for the Palestinians, the escalating crisis in the gulf and US secretary of state Madeleine Albright's whirlwind tour of Europe in the next two days to sort out the issue has also pushed the middle east peace issue to sideline. Meanwhile, Israelis, besides thinking of ways not to part with too much land to Palestinians, are also preoccupied with worries of a possible Iraqi strike if the US carried out its threat toattack Baghdad.
Chief UN arms inspector said some days back that Iraq had enough biological weapons to blow away Tel Aviv.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
