Middle East's historic opportunity

SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Optimism that more than four years of bloodshed between Israel and Palestine could end was high as Middle East leaders assembled last night for an historic summit in Egypt.

The agenda for Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas involved the declaration of a formal ceasefire at the meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the highest-level talks since a Palestinian uprising broke out in 2000.

The host, President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan's King Abdullah were present to add their weight to a summit that could also prepare the ground for the revival of a US-backed "road map" towards a Palestinian state beside a secure Israel.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ending a Middle East visit, said the Gaza withdrawal was "a historic opportunity" for the Palestinians to regain lands they had lost.

But Islamic militant factions have so far agreed only to a conditional ceasefire, and neither side shows signs of budging on key obstacles such as borders, and whether Palestinian refugees would have the right to return to homes they abandoned or were forced to leave in what is now Israel.

Palestinian and Israeli officials said the summit should bring a formal end to the violence that erupted in 2000 when talks collapsed for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

But the vital agreement of militant groups to a ceasefire remains in doubt, despite their willingness to go along with a de facto truce at the behest of Mr Abbas.

"We have certain conditions, national conditions. If they are achieved we will declare our position," said Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior leader of Islamic militant group Hamas, which has formally sworn to destroy the Jewish state.

The factions have said Israel's promise to free 900 out of 8000 Palestinian prisoners, to pull back troops from some West Bank cities and to stop targeting top militants are not enough.

A source in Mr Sharon's office said: "If the terrorist attacks and violence cease, there will be no need for us to launch operations, because calm responds to calm."

Israel says it is ready to co-ordinate with Mr Abbas on its plan to withdraw settlers from occupied Gaza and part of the West Bank this year if violence stops and Palestinians rein in militants, as they are meant to under the road map plan.

The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in November removed a key obstacle to the search for an end to conflict as Washington would not deal with him.

There also has been a growing rapprochement after the moderate Abbas' election and a deeper engagement by the US in seeking Middle East peace.

Condoleezza Rice promised US backing for the agreement.

"This is the most promising moment of progress between Palestinians and Israelis in recent years," she said.

"The United States is determined to do all that we can to take advantage of this moment of opportunity in the weeks and months ahead.

"This is not just restricted to Gaza but includes four settlements in the West Bank. So there is a link between Gaza and the West Bank, which will help the parties to return to the road map," Dr Rice said.

More potential pitfalls for peacemaking lie ahead.

Mr Abbas holds strongly to the Palestinian line that a state must include all the West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem, and Gaza, and that refugees and their millions of descendants should have the right to return to lands in what is now Israel.

Those demands remain deal-breakers for Israel, which wants to keep major West Bank settlements, sees East Jerusalem as part of its own "indivisible capital" and rules out the possibility of refugees returning to the Jewish state.

The United States, the powerbroker in peacemaking, yesterday emphasised its intention to step up its efforts.

Before leaving the area, Dr Rice named a US general as security co-ordinator to help nurture peace moves and said Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas were invited for White House talks in the (northern) spring.

"There should be no doubt about the commitment of the United States to this process at this time - no doubt about the commitment of the President, no doubt about my personal commitment," Dr Rice said.

Sharm el-Sheikh has been the site for high-profile summits before. President Bill Clinton helped to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian agreement there in October 2000 that ultimately failed to bring peace.

President George W. Bush met Arab leaders at the venue in June 2003 during a trip that also included a meeting in Jordan with Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas, who was then the Palestinian Prime Minister.

THE ISSUES

SECURITY

Israel wants Palestinian security forces to actively pursue militants. Palestine wants Israel to remove security checkpoints in the West Bank to permit freer movement.

PRISONERS

Israel holds 8000 Palestinian prisoners and a substantive release could strengthen Mr Abbas' credibility among militant factions. Israel agreed to release 900 prisoners - those not involved in attacks on Israelis - and agreed to a joint committee to review possible releases of those with "blood on their hands".

FUGITIVES

Palestinians sought to present a list of fugitives - about 350 people - who would be given conditional amnesty provided they hand over their weapons and agree not to leave their home towns.

WHAT LIES AHEAD

Negotiations, if all goes well. The summit is geared towards creating an atmosphere in which talks can proceed. It does not address the tough issues that negotiators must ultimately sort out, including future borders, the status of Jerusalem or what to do about Palestinian refugees.

- REUTERS