Horizons: By Nabil Fahmy, Ambassador of Egypt to the United States

11 January 2008

After almost seven years of lack of engagement on Arab Israeli conflict resolution, 47 Countries and Organizations met in Annapolis at the invitation of President George W. Bush to launch Palestinian Israeli permanent settlement negotiations towards the creation of a two (Palestinian-Israeli) state solution and the realization of a comprehensive Israeli Peace. This in itself was an important achievement.

Optimists will also argue that we have embarked on a new era in which Palestinian Israeli negotiations will be concluded successfully in 2008 and that we will soon witness a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in security and freedom for all. They will argue that the participation of the leaders of these two parties at the highest level, complemented by Foreign Ministers of over 40 countries is a strong statement of support and testimony that the International Community is keenly interested in seeing the resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict, with the Palestinian issue at its core. A few weeks after the Annapolis conference, an International Palestinian donor’s conference was convened in Paris and commitments were made for over seven billion dollars, widely surpassing the declared target of 5.2 billion dollars, yet another reason to be optimistic.

Skeptics on the other hand will highlight the heated passions behind the Palestinian Israeli divide, the lack of a substantive final declaration at Annapolis defining how the four main issues (of Jerusalem, Refugees, territory as well as security) will be resolved and Israel’s announcement of yet further settlement activity immediately after the Annapolis conference, as reasons to believe that nothing really has changed. They seriously question not only the probability but the possibility of an Israeli Palestinian peace in 2008.

These are serious and understandable concerns I share the view of the optimists and the skeptics at the same time, and I don’t find this to be contradictory. There is a reason for optimism because we are restarting something that has been sterile for so long. But there is also legitimate reason for skepticism because Palestinian Israeli negotiations have not resumed in earnest and settlement expansion goes against the spirit and letter of everything we did in Annapolis. Arab Israeli peace in the Middle East is of paramount importance to all the parties. It is also an urgent imperative to safeguard regional and International security.

Egypt, as always, will continue to support peaceful reconciliation in our region through a comprehensive Arab Israeli Peace. We hope all the regional and International parties will join us in the noble endeavor and redouble these efforts in the New Year.

May 2008 bring peace, health and prosperity for you all.