Why peace is hard sell for Powell

The meeting between Powell and Arafat, in turn, almost did not take place. A few hours after Powell's meeting with Sharon – just as he was heading out of Jerusalem in a helicopter on his way to see the northern border – another suicide bomber struck in a crowded fruit and vegetable market, killing herself and six others and wounding dozens.

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer had the helicopter circle the market from the air so Powell could better see the carnage below. The meeting with Arafat, which had been scheduled for Saturday, was immediately postponed.

With Israel calling on Powell to cancel the meeting completely and Palestinians and Arab states arguing that if he did not meet with Arafat his whole mission would be deemed unworthy, Powell stalled and the White house pressed for a statement from Arafat.

On Saturday, Arafat put out a written condemnation of the Friday attack. In the statement, which was read in Arabic on Palestinian television, Arafat deplored Israel's military operations in the West Bank as massacres, but also strongly condemned the violent operations directed at Israeli civilians, especially the latest operation in Jerusalem. Furthermore, Arafat called for an implementation of the Tenet plan as well as a return to talks about the Mitchell blueprint for peace.

Israeli government officials rejected Arafat's statement, saying they had heard it all before. "These words are meaningless. We want concrete actions," said Daniel Ayalon, a top Sharon aide. Powell saw it differently – and, satisfied with Arafat's condemnation – agreed to reschedule the meeting.

He set off for the Palestinian leader's besieged compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah late yesterday morning. There, he heard Arafat argue that there could be no call for a cease-fire before Israel withdrew all its troops from the West Bank, a demand Sharon is unlikely to accept.

Stepping out alone after the three-hour meeting, Powell said talks had been useful and constructive and would be continued on a lower level later in the week. Another meeting with Arafat is expected to take place on Tuesday. But many observers think it's all a waste of time.

"Powell's mission here is going to fail," says Ali Jarbawi, a political scientist at Birzeit University. "First the Israeli army has to pull out of our villages. How can he ask the PA to call for a cease-fire before this happens? They are surrounded and besieged. Arafat does not have the force to do anything. If this cannot be understood then what can? There is no hope here."

With Powell's mission in the Middle East just begun, and no date set for his departure, there is still a chance that his back-and-forth diplomacy will bear fruit. So far, however it has not. It will undoubtedly be a long shuttle.

Page: 1 | 2