Mideast peace in danger

Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, have never been in such disarray as they are now. The entire Palestinian team has submitted its resignation to President Yasser Arafat, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone back on much that has been agreed, and has also produced ugly new surprises which make talking to his government a mere waste of breath.

Peace talks need a basis of mutual trust, if they are to make any progress. The PLO's negotiations with the previous Israeli government, led by Yitzhak Rabin and subsequently Shimon Peres, came up against plenty of problems, too, but maintained their momentum owing to a measure of trust and a commitment to peace. All that is gone now, with Netanyahu doing what the hardline extremists in his government want him to do.

It is not just the imminent collapse of the peace talks that will now worry the international community, but the grim prospect of widespread violence breaking out in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. There will be more bloodshed if a new intifada starts off on a bigger scale than before. The more militant Palestinian groups will gain ground in such a crisis, while Arafat and the members of the Palestinian authority who are elected representatives will suffer a severe setback.

Is this what Netanyahu wants? Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres negotiated with Arafat and the PLO because they wanted to transfer power and land to moderate Palestinian elements. But Netanyahu is doing the opposite, deceiving and humiliating Arafat, which can only lead to disaster.

President Bill Clinton has also done his share to turn the peace process upside down. He can not stand by and watch while Netanyahu destroys himself and everything around him.

-- Gulf News, Dubai