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The Horizon This Week

Pope at Mount Sinai

Arshad-uz Zaman
***As the leaders of the Middle East continue to haggle about the final steps of a settlement of the Middle East Peace Process, they cannot let slip a deadline, the end of the year 2000.***
THE Pope during his recent 01110131 visit to Egypt has made a declaration at the feet of Mount Sinai, which is of profound significance for humanity. He has called upon the three monotheistic faiths — Judaism. Christianity and Islam to unite at Sinai. Humanity must take serious note of this declaration and find a way of acting in concert.
Mount Sinai is of great importance to the three monotheistic faiths. It is at Sinai that God is supposed to have rewaled Himself to Prophet Moses and revealed to him the Ten Commandments. These Ten Commandments are the articles of faith of the Jewish religion It is on the strength of these reveala-tions that Israel has declared Jerusalem the Eternal Capital of the State of Israel.
Politically Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Yet not a single state of any consequence has recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel The US Congress, where the Israeli lobby has undisputed sway? has on several occasions come close to recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
It Is common knowledge that any politician of any consequence in the US seeking elected office, must pay a visit to- Israel. Yet recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, of Israel would dangerously queer the pitch for it would threaten any settlement of the entire Middle East dispute.
Jesus Christ, whose religion Christianity is professed throughout the world and whose undisputed emissary the Pope is. was bom in Bethlehem, which currently is administered by Palestinian authority. Jerusalem is the first Kibla of Islam and Muslims used to turn in prayer towards Jerusalem before shifting to the holy Kaaba in Makkah al Mukar-ramah. The newly emerging state of Palestine, whose formal foundation is expected to be laid during this year, has also declared Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
Six years ago in Oslo, the capital of Norway, when the Peace Agreement was signed between the Palestinians and the Israelis, the Peace Process received the required shot in the arm. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands before TV' cameras on the verandah of the White House, with a beaming President Bill Clinton in the middle. From that day on. President Clinton has remained engaged In the Peace Process alm 'st on a daily basis.
That Peace Procex a has moved considerably forward. The Palestinian authority has been established on bits and pieces of the West Bank and Gaza and the temporary headquarters of Palestine in Tunis, has been wound down. Negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis are progressing with continuous road-blocks. There is occasional bloodshed and lot of acrimonious debates. Yet the Peace Process is making headway.
It is not very clear why the Peace Process between §yria and Israel is nnt making the kind of headway that one would expect. It is in a sense simpler deal than it was between Egypt and Israel at Camp David in 1979. For it involves the withdrawal of Israel from Golan Heights of Syria in exchange for recognition and more important security guarantee for Israel. For Golan Overlooks Israel and Israel wants iron clad guarantees.
Since her occupation of the West Bank in Palestine and the Golan Heights in Syria. Israel has built settlements and de-veloped agriculture and tourism in Syria. Dismantling of Jewish settlements is a messy affair but Israel in order to achieve peace must necessarily do it. The occupation of South Lebanon by Israel has been very costly for her. The Hizbollah guerillas has carried on murderous war against Israeli occupation and caused much loss of life among the Israelis.
It is. therefore, that Prime Minister Ehud Barak during his election campaign had vowed to pull out from South Lebanon by Autumn of this year. The fate of Lebanon is inextricably tied with-that of Syria and there lies the importance of a deal between Syria and Israel.
The official visit of the Pope to Egypt, the most important Arab country, is a signal that the situation is coming to a head in the Middle East. The focal point is Jerusalem. The three monotheistic faiths are claimants of Jerusalem. More than a territorial solution a spiritual solution must be attempted. The age of the Crusades is long gpne.
It is at Mount Sinai that the Ten Commandments were re-
vealed. This was the beginning of the journey of the three monotheistic faiths through humanity. When 1 was Ambassador oi Bangladesh in Egypt, President Sadat after signing the deal with the Israelis at Camp David, had launched the idea of a temple at the Sinai for three monotheistic faiths. President Sadat was gunned down by assassins and did not five to carry forward his great idea. The Pope has now picked up the thread. It deserves to be explored with all seriousness.
As the leaders of the Middle East continue to haggle about the final steps of a settlement of the Middle East Peace Process. they cannot let slip a deadline, the end of the year 2000. By that date President
Bill Clinton will lay down the reins of office. He has been so intimately associated with taking the Peace Process forward. that a final solution in unthinkable without him. The Peace Process was seriously engaged during another Democrat President Jimmy Carter, under whose stewardship the Camp David Peace Agreement was signed between Egypt and Israel. During the more than a decade rule Dy the Republicans, the Peace Process went into cold storage. It is during the more than seven-year rule by Democrat President Bill Clinton that the Peace Process has come close to a final solution. Will, the actors of the drama in the Middle East let the opportunity slip?