The Skeptic الشكاك

476 Surprise Us

Hisham Baradi, 35, was fatally shot today when Palestinian police, enforcing a ban on all Annapolis-related activity in the West Bank, broke up a demonstration against the summit.

The ban on Annapolis-related activity highlights Mahmoud Abbas’ credibility problem. What’s he worried about? That “the activity” will highlight the fact that it’s not clear on whose behalf he’s negotiating?

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh today expressed dismay that Arab countries had sent representatives to the meeting. “We are sure that the Annapolis conference will not change the reality of history and geography,” he said. “The Arab masses will reject … any concessions to the Zionist enemy.”

The thousands of people who turned out in the streets of Gaza and Ramallah suggest that is true of the Palestinian masses, at least. That Abbas’ political survival may depend on his being able to surprise the world by wringing out real concessions should put the Israelis and the Americans in a more conciliatory mood. Surely they must be worried about the alternative.

McClatchy correspondent Hannah Allam does a nice job of summarizing local cynicism about the summit (interestingly, in Israel and the rest of the region) in her joint-byline story and on her excellent blog. Her blog lists press reactions:

“[The host is] Bush, who is stuck in Iraq, embarrassed inside and outside [his nation], who is forced to make a grand theatrical gesture that saves his international standing and gives him the honor of being the seeker of peace in the world, and saves face for the United States after a series of failures. The ‘international summit’ dwarfed with time into a mere get-together.”
Erfan Nizam al Din, al Hayat Newspaper

“It is vital here to state to all parties that the danger in the Annapolis conference lies in raising the level of expectation and not anticipating what should happen after, particularly if the conference is unable to achieve concrete results — and that is what we truly fear the most.”
Tariq Alhomayed, editor-in-chief of Al Sharq al Awsat newspaper

“Vigilance of the Palestinian nation, which is tied to that of the Muslim Ummah, especially the great Iranian nation, will prevent materialization of the sinister objectives of the U.S. administration holding the conference.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, IRNA, Iranian state news agency

“Those attending the meeting and giving concessions to the Zionist occupiers will not be remembered in history with good reputation.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, IRNA news agency

“The Annapolis conference is of no use, and any decisions taken at the conference are not binding on the Palestinian people, but only binding on those who signed them.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, al Jazeera television

“After the conference’s three days pass, we will not find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, but we’ll find a new round of political and diplomatic clashes, and this round can go on like previous rounds without reaching a solution.”
Abdel Moneim Saied, Ahram newspaper

“Syria will participate in the conference without any illusions of what will take place, and out of a conviction that Israel doesn’t want peace, and that it’s the one responsible for stalling the peace process. Syria’s participation in this conference is to test the seriousness of the American administration to work for peace this time.”
Ezzeldin Darwish, the Syrian newspaper Teshreen

“It’s an important step. I cannot say it’s a breakthrough, especially when I don’t know yet what will come out of it, but we need to give it a chance.”
Hossam Zaki, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman, interview

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