Goodwill hunting

The upcoming visits will still have a largely bilateral focus but India8217;slong-time friend, Palestine President Yasser Arafat, at least hopes theIndian ministers will help push Israel toward greater accommodation. 8220;All Iwant you India to do is to ask them to implement the commitments they havealready signed,8221; he told Heptulla.

Her visit, as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was specificallyto egg on the peace process. Her identity as an Indian was never out offocus, though, for her aides at each meeting included officials from theIndian embassy.

It8217;s a crucial time in the peace process. Having stabilised peace with Egyptand Jordan over the last several years, Israel has just withdrawn fromLebanon, clearing the way 8211; or so its leaders hope 8211; for a settlement withSyria, which acts in tandem with Lebanon. On the other hand, negotiationsfor a final settlement of the core issue between Israel and Palestine are inthe final stages.

Of course, the chief broker is the US but India could get involved, albeitmarginally, for tremendous goodwill for India was evident on both sidesduring Heptulla8217;s visit.

She had meetings with both presidents and addressed both parliaments. Shewas given a guard of honour at the Knesset and her address to the PalestineNational Council was the second ever by a foreign dignitary, the firsthaving been US President Bill Clinton in 1998. Arafat broke with protocol topersonally escort her into the council hall, holding her hand aloft amid astanding ovation, and then acknowledged her as his sister.

Palestinians have not forgotten India8217;s unflagging support in the years whenmuch of the world disparaged the Palestine Liberation Organisation as aterrorist outfit. And the annual waves of young Israelis who spend monthstravelling through India after their military training have evidently takenback warm memories. Believe it or not, Atilde;ordf;iDil to pagal haiAtilde;ordf;r is one ofIsrael8217;s most popular melodies ever since it was used as the theme song of aTV documentary by a group of those young travellers.

That goodwill on both sides holds the key to a huge potential for trade.India8217;s trade with Israel, with which there were no official diplomaticrelations until just eight years ago, crossed the billion-dollar mark lastyear. And Palestine could import all manner of goods after a full-fledgedstate comes into being, possibly later this year.

The potential for defence, intelligence and anti-terrorism cooperation toois huge, Israel having established enviable credentials in these areas.Advani8217;s visit is meant primarily to tap that. Jaswant Singh, of course,will focus more on the peace process and on cementing the foundations forenhanced cooperation with both nations.

Heptulla8217;s experiences could help him navigate the minefield that diplomacyin the region is. The peace talks are plagued by two highly emotionalissues, the status of Jerusalem and the future of the Palestinian refugeeswho fled during each of the four wars that Israel has won since independencein 1948.

Since the 1967 war, Israel has complete control of Jerusalem and isunwilling to part with it, apart perhaps from guaranteeing access to theDome of the Rock mosque, which is considered to be Islam8217;s third most holyshrine. Most Palestinians, though, insist that there can be no peace unlessJerusalem is the capital of Palestine.

The issue of refugees is as highly charged. Israel is chary of granting theright of return, although it is founded on the right of all Jews anywhere inth world to migrate to Israel. The balance of population favours Israel,since there are only about 2 million Arabs now in the Gaza and West Bankareas that are to become Palestine, and another 1.2 million among Israel8217;spopulation of 6 million.

Both issues cropped up during Heptulla8217;s visit. The Israelis were upset overthe IPU8217;s recent resolution backing the rights of Palestinian refugees. Sheexplained in her speech at the dinner that the Knesset Speaker hosted forher that there was little she could do when the majority of parliamentarydelegations from 138 nations voted a certain way.

The Israelis seemed satisfied but she still had to get past thePalestinian8217;s prickliness. They were initially determined that she visitOrient House, the symbol of the PLO in Jerusalem. That would have been likea red rag to a bull among Israelis, for Orient House was the nerve centre ofthe Intefada uprising in Jerusalem. Heptulla firmly refused, taking pains toexplain to the Palestinians that the Indian mission had nothing to do withher decision and that, as head of the IPU, her purpose was to build bridgesrather than raise controversies. They saw the point.

With such fragile sensibilities on both sides, it8217;s hardly surprising thatthe peace process is so tortuous. Arafat is clearly a realist, however, andstill appears to have enough credibility to carry his people along. Hesurely knows that his people are losing ground, literally, with each passingday, for Israeli settlements continue to sprout in Arab areas.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced a moratorium on fresh Israelisettlements last year but it transpired that he meant no new approvals wouldhenceforth be given. Enough approvals have already been given, however, toallow fresh settlements to come up for another six years.

Settlements essentially private housing development projects are generallystrung out across hilltops and Palestinian leaders point out that thevalleys below also become useless to them. Arafat told Heptulla that Barakwas following in the footsteps of his recalcitrant predecessor, BenyaminNetanyahu, rather than in those of Yitzak Rabin, who initiated the peaceprocess.

Barak is riding a wave of popularity for the moment, however, havingexecuted a swift and bloodless withdrawal from south Lebanon. Many youngIsraelis had died during 22 years of occupying an area over which Israelnever made a long term claim.

The withdrawal has won Israel brownie points abroad too. Israeli leadersargue that Syria can no more link Israel8217;s withdrawal from the Golanheights, which it occupied in 1967, with withdrawal from Lebanon. Israel iswilling to give up the Golan but insists on the border agreed betweenBritain and France in 1923, when they were colonial masters of each, ratherthan the de facto boundary of 1967.

At that time, Syria was at the bank of the Sea of Galilee. The de jureborder was at least ten metres away from the bank at the closest point.Galilee is crucial to Israel8217;s water supply and its leaders are unwilling toallow Syria access to it.

A senior Israeli government intelligence analyst says that the late Assadwas too preoccupied with ensuring the succession of his son, Bashir, tojeopardise that. For the moment, in any case, Barak is focussed onnegotiations with the Palestinians 8211; and perhaps further improved relationswith Israel and the nascent Palestine are in any case the primary foreignpolicy priority in the region.

The writer is a Delhi-based political analyst