Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 22)
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- Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 22)
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Murphy’s visits have always yielded a
new round of dreaming about US ef-
forts to establish ‘peace’ in the region,
all the while the US 1s fueling the fires
of conflict. ‘Irangate’, and_ the
deployment of US warships in the
Mediterranean and Gulf, are but recent
examples of the US’s ‘peaceful’ efforts.
The US’s definition of credibility is its
Own interests, and these are much more
important to it than the concerns of its
Arab followers.
HUSSEIN’S PILGRIMAGE
Arab reaction’s pilgrimage to
western Europe opened this year with
King Hussein’s January 12th-18th trip
to France, Italy and the Vatican. Most
observers of Hussein’s visits pointed
out that his main goal was to convince
the EEC governments to support the
Jordanian five-year plan for the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, ridiculously call-
ed the ‘development’ plan. However,
the political aspect of the King’s trip, of
which the ‘development’ plan is an im-
portant part, was apparent. In a speech
at the dinner party held for the Italian
President Cosiga, the King stressed that
the plan «would have good results not
only on the economic level, but also in
terms of stability in the region.» This
statement was in itself incriminating,
for the Jordanian regime still claims
that the plan has no political goals, but
only aims at ‘improving the quality of
life’ in the occupied territories.
Thus far, the only EEC country to
support the Jordanian ‘development’
plan is Britain which contributed £2.5
million. However, Hussein’s trip to
Italy may have produced some results.
During the dinner party, Cosiga stated,
«We look positively to the five-year
development plan...» Italy’s prime
minister, Bettino Craxi, said, «...Italy
has always supported such plans aiming
at improving living conditions.»
Hussein’s ‘French’ trip may, how-
ever, not have steered his way. The
French government reportedly told him
that France prefers sending its financial
aid directly to the West Bank and Gaza
Strip, not to the Jordanian govern-
ment.
Yet the Jordanian regime’s efforts to
gain support for the plan did not halt
despite the not so promising results of
the king’s trip. On January 19th,
22
Crown Prince Hassan visited London
in a continuation of the regime’s efforts
to gain unanimous EEC support for the
plan. Accomodating these efforts are
the US’s attempts to bring the EEC
governments to a concensus on the
Jordanian plan.
PERES’ SHUTTLE
‘Israel’ is also showing its support
for the so-called development plan.
Peres visited Italy just before Hussein,
and left a message there for the king.
Spadolini, Italy’s defense minister, said
that this «message supports the Jorda-
nian development plan and expresses
hope that western countries will show
support as well.» In Brussels, head-
quarters of the EEC, Peres appealed
for aid to ‘moderate’ Arab states in
order to draw them into direct negotia-
tions with the Zionist state. Only in this
perspective can one understand the call
for an international conference, which
Peres issued on his return from Britain.
The international conference which
Peres is promoting, and which That-
cher’s Britain endorsed, is so full of
conditions as to be a replica of the con-
sistent US-Israeli stand, not a
‘breakthrough’ as projected by some.
According to Peres, an international
conference should not be a substitute
for direct negotiations; it should not
include parties who have no diplomatic
relations with ‘Israel’ - aimed at keep-
ing the Soviet Union out. Obviously,
Peres’ international conference is only
a decoy designed to draw Arab reac-
tion, especially Jordan, into direct
negotiations with ‘Israel’. Mainly this
aims at negating the PLO’s role as
representative of the Palestinian people
who are the party most concerned in
any discussions about the future of the
West Bank and Gaza Strip, not to
mention the Arab-Zionist conflict as
such. The seemingly contradictory
statements of Shamir are but a part of
the internal power play in the Zionist
state, reflecting tactical differences as
to how Israeli interests can best be
promoted.
This castrated version of an interna-
tional conference is also in line with US
thinking, as was clear in the statement
of Pickering, US ambassador to
‘Israel’, in mid-February, that the US
might be for an international con-
ference if it were a way to draw King
Hussein to the negotiations table,
echoing an earlier statement by US
Secretary of State Schultz. Nor is Hus-
sein opposed. In his interview with Ex-
oresso, Hussein stated that «in case of
organizing an international conference,
the issue of Palestinian representation
would not be an obstacle.» This shows
Hussein’s basic agreement with
Zionism and imperialism on_ the
necessity of putting aside the PLO, and
finding substitutes in order to push
forward the imperialist ‘peace’ efforts.
EUROPE JOINS THE
SHUTTLE
Some European states are becoming
more obvious in their role as go-
between for the sake of promoting im-
perialist stability in the Middle East.
Thus, it was noticeable that French en-
voys were dispatched to ‘Israel’ to brief
Peres on Mitterrand’s talks with Hus-
sein. Similarly, Italian Defense
Minister Spadolini visited ‘Israel’ after
Hussein’s stay in his country.
Spadolini shuttled between Jordan,
‘Israel’ and Egypt in mid-January,
following Murphy’s path. According to
Spadolini, his was a «thought-gathering
mission» concerning the ‘peaceful’ set-
tlement. It seemed strange that
Spadolini came to the region to gather
thoughts when he had already met with
Jordan’s king and the foreign minister
of ‘Israel’.
The Tunisian daily, Assabah,
published a statement on January 19th,
made by Spadolini, saying that «Israel
is the source of the difficulties obstruc-
ting the idea of an international con-
ference... These difficulties stem from
Tel Aviv’s condition that the USSR
restore relations with it and solve the
Soviet Jews’ immigration problem...
There is also a difficulty in the issue of
Palestinian representation... Therefore,
there should be a solution to the
Palestinian representation in the con-
ference.»
This statement seems unbelievable
coming from Spadolini, the most
distinguished friend of ‘Israel’ in Italy.
Yet when read carefully, it becomes
clearer. What is actually being
demanded in order to have an interna- - هو جزء من
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