We hope there’s room for optimism in today’s meeting of Middle East leaders in Maryland. More than 40 countries are expected to be represented at the one-day gathering in Annapolis, meant to jumpstart intense negotiations on an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia will be among the attendees.
Many of the decades-old problems still remain to be resolved, such as sovereignty over Jerusalem and whether Palestinian refugees will be allowed to settle in Israel — issues for which there are no easy solutions.
Still, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed on some basic principles and are sounding hopeful in public. Olmert has pledged to negotiate seriously once formal talks get underway after today’s meeting and said he believes there is a chance to complete a peace deal by the end of next year.
Hanging like a cloud over the conference is Iran, which was not invited to the talks, and its attempt to expand its power in the region. Another failure by Israel and Palestine surely will give a power boost to Iran. It seems Israel and Palestine, two states living side by side, have little choice but to buckle down and find common ground.
President Bush has called on all those gathering in Annapolis to “redouble their efforts to turn dreams of peace into reality.” In his opening speech to the conference, Bush will tell participants that Mideast peace will be a top priority for the rest of his administration. Bush met separately Monday with Olmert and Abbas.
The conference is meant to draw outside backing for the difficult talks that will follow. The Arab League endorsement of the gathering, while reluctant, was considered crucial because Abbas needs Arab support, especially after Islamic Hamas militants routed his loyalists in the Gaza Strip this summer and now rule there. To no one’s surprise, the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, said that any decisions emerging from the conference “will not be binding on the Palestinian people, only on those who signed them.”
It is hoped that progress on the peace talks might weaken Hamas and enable Abbas to expand his influence. Syria’s involvement in the conference is also critical. Syria backs Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both enemies of Israel. The Baker-Hamilton commission had recommended dialogue with Syria in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Perhaps this will mean a new beginning.
However today’s meeting turns out, it will be historic. It marks the first time that Israel, a large group of Arab states and international envoys from around the world will sit down together to try to relaunch a peace process. Surely, that alone is reason for hope.
