Arabs Gloomy About Israel's Post-election Unilateralism

"We can't speculate about the result of the elections but the political programs (of Israeli parties) are clear and most of them are not conducive to reaching a real peace," Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa told Reuters on Monday, March26 .

Over five million Israelis will cast their ballot on Tuesday to elect members of the120 -seat parliament.

No less than 31 parties are battling for seats in the legislature, although only half of them are expected to enter parliament.

On the election eve, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party was tipped to win 34 seats, Labour 21 seats and Likud only13 , according to a poll by the Yediot Aharonot daily.

"Whoever emerges in Israel, there is no peace process. All the parties in Israel have proved that they are an obstacle to peace... They are all faces of the same coin," agreed Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem.

Olmert has proposed a platform of unilaterally setting Israel's permanent borders, without consultations with the Palestinians.

He said Israel intends to hold on to large Jewish settlement blocks in the occupied West Bank, dividing Palestinian areas from each other and making it more difficult to create a contiguous and viable Palestinian state.

Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip last year under the "disengagement plan" of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, now in coma.

Worse

Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh sees little peace hopes with Israel's continued policy of unilateralism.

"If the political leaders in Israel continue in this mentality and this spirit, there will be no peace," he said.

"They have a policy of unilateral withdrawal from Palestinian land, in separate pieces, setting up Palestinian cantons without links between them to set up a Palestinian state."

Palestinians fear they would bear the brunt of the Israeli elections if it paves the way for the ruling Kadima party to push on with its plan to unilaterally set the final borders.

Egypt and Jordan, the two Arab countries which have peace treaties and diplomatic ties with Israel, have also expressed similar anxiety over Israel's unilateralism.

"Things are going to be worse (after the elections), simply because of the unilateralism," said a diplomat from one of the two countries.

"That puts in jeopardy a peace process based on multilateralism and the roadmap."

The two countries are reluctant to air their anxiety over Israel's shift towards unilateralism in public due to their relations with Tel Aviv, according to Reuters.

But Arab foreign ministers, meeting in Khartoum on Sunday, March26 , to prepare for the Arab summit, rejected Israel's unilateral approach.

They also reaffirmed the 2002 Arab peace initiative offering normal relations with Israel in return for its withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and all of the West Bank and Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) to the 1967 borders.

http://islamonline.net/English/News/2006-03/27/article08.shtml