ANALYSIS: Israeli-Palestinian council generates more doubt than hope

Middle East News

By Pakinam Amer
May 18, 2007, 17:19 GMT

Dead Sea, Jordan - Even as the Jordan-based World Economic Forum began with the announcement of an ambitious Israeli-Palestinian business council on Friday, observers cast doubt on the effectiveness of such an initiative in light of the heavy Hamas-Fatah clashes.

The 10-member council's co-chairs admitted that the political standoff the region was undergoing put the economic situation at stake. In addition, they said 'deep rifts and difficulties' still characterized complicated Israeli and Palestinian relations.

'We do not offer political solutions, but we constitute a community that is able to provide some measure of direction and practical solutions to issues affecting our region,' said Walid al- Najjab, Palestinian co-chair of the business council.

His Israeli counterpart Amos Shapira added: 'We believe our Palestinian colleagues also want to create a better future.'

Both business experts and leaders, however, hoped that the forum will give weight to their 'message' that according to Shapira 'should not be ignored or belittled.'

However the forum, which hosts around 1,500 delegates, is itself weighed down by the violence in the Palestinian territories - a situation which has topped the agenda of the forum
Jordan's King Abdullah urged the Palestinians, Arabs and the international community to act, saying 'Israelis and Palestinians from all walks of life tell us they need and want an end to violence.'

But even as the king's speech highlighted prospects of peace and 'sweeping new opportunities and benefits,' it was marred by the reality of the deteriorating situation around the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

In the war-ravaged territories, unemployment runs high with experts recently placing it at 60 per cent.

An economic blockade, which was put into effect by the international community when radical Hamas came to power, drained the area of its resources and left many families penniless.

King Abdullah, pleading with Arab leaders to react, said that 'business owners shut factories because supply chains are broken, financing is frozen, and too few customers can afford to buy.'

He added: 'When children quit school early because they see no future ahead, it is our duty to act.'

Despite this, there are still some experts who insist that the forum will not be threatened by the Palestinian situation - or at least will not be dominated by it.

Jordan-based economic expert Fahd al-Faneq believes that in its core the forum is not political, despite an agenda which places political concerns on top.

'The main aim of this conference is being together as businessmen and discussing business opportunities in the region,' al-Faneq said on the sidelines of the conference, adding that the Palestinian cause was not the main issue.

'Many of the participants are economists and businessmen. Evaluating the conference should be directed at the outcome of their meetings, which have not started yet.'

The high-profile meeting brings together participants from 55 countries, in addition to members of the G11, under the theme of 'putting diversity to work.'

The G11 member states are Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Indonesia, Morocco, Honduras, Georgia and Pakistan.

The G11 alliance is dedicated to reducing the financial burdens of its members states, in addition to finding solutions for their economic problems.

The Dead Sea resort in Jordan, which is hosting the World Economic Forum for the fourth time, is heavily fortified during the count down to the meeting, which brings around 700 top politicians in addition to business community leaders to the table of discussions.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Arab League chief Amr Moussa are among some of the top delegates.

On the eve of the meeting, reports said that opposition parties and tribunals called for boycotting the conference, because 'its targets run counter to the interests of the Arab peoples.'

They urged Arab governments to 'focus on real domestic development rather than promoting the alleged foreign investments that turn our societies to slaves.'

In addition, around 70 Jordanian and Arab organizations met in nearby Amman to protest the meeting.

The Jordan-based The Star newspaper quoted a statement by human rights activist Hani al-Dahleh saying that the forum 'is taking place amid a suffocating political crisis that engulfs the imperialistic American-Zionist project in the region because of the escalating heroic resistance in Iraq, the defeat of Israel's army in Lebanon and the resistance of the Palestinian people.'

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