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Palestinians at the table Thursday, December 23, 2004 - Page A22 Globe and Mail Does it make any sense to have a Middle East peace conference without Israel at the table? Just such a conference will be held in London early next year. The idea comes from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sold it on his visit to the Holy Land yesterday. Mr. Blair had hoped for a broad peacemaking conference that would help kick-start the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after the Palestinian election on Jan. 9. But Israel, always wary of being ganged up on at international meetings, begged off. So Mr. Blair came away with a commitment from the Palestinians to come to London in March to talk about reforming their own government. The one-day conference will focus on helping the Palestinians make a proper transition from the corrupt and inept rule of the late Yasser Arafat, whose death in November has opened up a window of opportunity for peace talks. That might sound like a modest ambition for a major Mideast gathering. The conference will have nothing to say about the big issues that divide Palestinians and Israelis, from territory to refugees to Jerusalem. In fact, improving Palestinian governance is critical to getting the peace process back on track. Can Mahmoud Abbas, who is expected to be elected president in next month's vote, set up a clean and efficient administration? Will he be willing to take on corruption and, even more important, terrorism? Will he be able to govern the Gaza Strip after the Israeli pullout planned for next year? Will he be able to pull the Palestinians away from Mr. Arafat's victory-or-death radicalism and come up with a easonable Palestinian negotiating position for final-status talks with Israel? Very little can happen between Israelis and Palestinians until these questions are answered. Since the beginning of the Palestinian intifada four years ago, Israel has been able to say with some justice: We cannot deal with these people. They are killing our civilians. Their government is feudal and corrupt. Their only negotiating tactic is to say no to everything we suggest. You want us to talk peace, but we have no peace partner. If the Palestinians pull themselves together, elect a competent, practical leader, set up a clean, transparent administration and begin to take on the violent groups in their midst, Israel will no longer have that excuse for standing aside. That is why the focus now must be on the Palestinians. As Mr. Blair said yesterday, there is complete sympathy in the international community for the idea of a viable, independent Palestinian state. But "the viability has to be that of a state that is democratic, that is not giving any succour or help to terrorism, and that uses the help that is given from the outside in a proper and transparent way," The international community cannot do much right now to solve the big disputes between Israel and the Palestinians about how and if a Palestinian state will emerge. What it can do, with aid, advice and expertise, is help the Palestinians get their act together. Onward to London. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v4/sub/MarketingPage?user_URL= http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2FArticleNews%2FTPStory%2FLAC%2F20041223 %2FEBLAIR23%2FTPComment%2F%3Fquery%3DPalestinians%2Bat%2Bthe%2Btable&ord= 1103861578003&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true Comments
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