Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
[I]t is important to note that the results of Annapolis will be tested not based on what happened at the summit but on what the Annapolis process will entail. If yesterday’s summit fails to begin a process, it will be remembered as a failure or soon forgotten altogether. …
In the upcoming months there are three tracks in which we can envisage progress. The first is strengthening Abu Mazen’s power in the Palestinian territories by building the institutions of a future Palestinian state. This will need to be done while minimizing the divide between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. For this purpose, Israel needs to remove checkpoints and roadblocks, release prisoners, and halt construction in the settlements. Such acts would demonstrate to both the Palestinians and the opposition in Israel that Olmert is ready to make the transition from words to actions.
The second track is demonstrating progress in the negotiations over at least one of the less sensitive core issues, i.e., security arrangements, borders or water.
The third track is increasing international involvement in the process, one expression of which is presence of the international community – led by the United States - not only in what happens on the ground but also around the negotiation table. Additionally, once Israel proves its commitment to the process, it would be possible to demand that the Arab states demonstrate even symbolically their future consent to normalization with Israel. Minor diplomatic steps would help both the Israeli leadership in explaining better why painful compromises must be made, and Abu Mazen in showing his public that the Arab world supports the process. Access the full interview>>