Testing Arab solidarity

Just as Arab solidarity was re-established in Cairo on the weekend, it is once again being put to the test. Just after the Arab summit in the Egyptian capital issued a strong warning to Israel, hard-liner Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with equally stern words, rejecting the Arab leaders' gesture for peace.

Beyond their joint political declarations, Arab unity and solidarity have been notoriously suspect. Differences in cultures, political systems and interests have always come between them. Perhaps the only thing they really have in common is language. The Israelis, more than anyone else, know the fragility of any declaration of Arab unity and solidarity, a knowledge they have put to effective use in confronting the Arab world ever since the inception of the Jewish state. By responding with equal force to the Arab leaders' summit, Netanyahu appears to be banking on Israel's ability to divide the Arab world once again.

But the circumstances surrounding the common stance forged in Cairo have greatly changed and no one should dismiss, or underestimate, the unity of the Arab world in facing Israel.

The Cairo declaration reflected the views of the moderate Arab leaders rather than those of the extreme elements of the Arab world. For one thing, the summit was hosted by Egypt, which, more than any other Arab country, has been willing to cut deals and make compromises with Israel.

In spite of its strong wording, the declaration is not confrontational -- it reminds Israel of its obligation under the 1991 peace agreement signed by Netanyahu's predecessor in the Labor government. Israeli leaders may find some of the points in the declaration objectionable, but when taken as a whole there is no reason why Netanyahu should reject the call to return to the negotiating table with the principles laid out at the Madrid peace conference in 1991 as the basis. After all, those principles have the endorsement of the international community, including the United States, the principal backer of the Jewish state.

The Cairo declaration, rather than setting conditions for peace, is a reiteration of the "land for peace" negotiations already initiated by the previous Israeli Labor government, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with Arab Jerusalem as its capital and the return of land belonging to Syria and Lebanon.

While moderate in their demands, the Arab leaders were strong in their warnings, that if Israel decided not to heed their call, the Middle East region would be plunged back into a new cycle of tension and force Arab countries to reconsider their commitment to the peace process.

There is another reason why Israel should not underestimate Arab solidarity this time. The Cairo meeting is the first full Arab summit in six years. Arab solidarity and unity survived the strong test of their last meeting in 1991 to forge a common stand against Iraq, a fellow Arab state, for invading Kuwait.

It is also noteworthy that it did not take a lot of convincing for Egypt to get 21 Arab states to send their leaders or envoys to Cairo. The unifying factor was merely the concern, also shared by most other countries outside the Middle East, that the peace process could unravel if Netanyahu lives up to his anti-Arab rhetorics that gave him his election victory.

Perhaps only time will tell if and how long the Arab solidarity that came out of Cairo will survive, but it would be tragic if Israel pursued its old policy of dividing the Arab world. To do so would precipitate tension in the region and let the more hawkish and extreme leaders and factions in the Arab world prevail over the more moderate leaders, including Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat whom Netanyahu has so far ignored.

Netanyahu should return to the peace talks while the moderate leaders are still in control. The worst mistake he could make is to push those moderate leaders out and let extremists take the driving seat. Should that happen, the outcome will be a predictable return to violence, but to what extent is beyond anyone's imagination.