(Ha'aretz) Sharon Sadeh - British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week accused the Palestinians of having caused the peace process to fail. Blair said, "In today's world, particularly post-11 September, terrorism is the obstacle to political progress...whether it is in Northern Ireland, or it is in the Middle East....Terrorism is the enemy of progress for the Palestinian people." A few weeks ago, Dr. Rosemary Hollis, the head of the Middle East department at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), a research institute that has always had a pro-Arab image, proposed resolving the conflict by bringing Israel closer to the European Union and making Europe its strategic backup. In other words: in addition to the planned detachment from the Palestinians, Israel's detachment from the Arab Middle East altogether. Israel, says Hollis, is dealing with legitimate concerns in the area of security, and Europe, which has historical responsibility for Israel's existence, must extend a hand to it to dispel its suspicions. If the EU, British included, "are asking Israel to make a deal with the Palestinians that leaves Israel feeling more naked in security terms, then their duty is to explain what they are going to do to help with Israel's security. And I would suggest that they embrace Israel and say: We will be your strategic depth, instead of you having to regard the Arab world as your strategic depth, come with us and be a member of NATO and integrate more closely into the EU." Contrary to the prevailing opinion in Israel, Hollis believes that the British Foreign Office is no longer "a hotbed of Arabists." "If you are a high-flyer in the foreign service you certainly don't go to Arabic any more; you would go Chinese, or you would go for Europe or Washington, or a combination of both. And that will never be coming back. Quite a lot has shifted." Blair has warm feelings toward Israel, says Hollis. "Tony Blair personally has some close friends who are Jewish, and didn't have any close friends who are Palestinians or Arabs. He didn't come to office with a developed position on this but did see that the UK has regretted this perception, that Britain is pro-Arab, and so number 10 [Downing Street] is guarded about Israel because they wanted to reverse that image. Under Blair's auspices, the idea was that Britain is going to get along better with Israel." After Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister, Blair has taken care to maintain good relations and to intervene personally in cases of disagreement.
2004-01-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive