MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Maria Appakova)
Three weeks after Israel started a military operation in the Gaza Strip, when the number of deaths already exceeded one thousand, Arab League countries finally gathered for a summit in Qatar to discuss the situation in Palestine.
But far from all countries came to the summit. Key Arab players, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, preferred to discuss the Palestinian problem at the Arab economic summit in Kuwait on January 19. Their refusal to discuss Qatar's proposals shows that Arab discord goes much deeper than simply the disputes on the summit's time and venue.
Arab politicians have turned the war in Gaza into a war of ambitions. Propaganda battles have taken place not only between Israel and Palestinians, but also inside the Arab world. One of Kuwait's MPs suggested that the Arab League should transfer its capital from Cairo to Caracas because Hugo Chavez had proven to be more of an Arab than some Arabs.
Shortly before, Venezuela and Bolivia broke off diplomatic relations with Israel because of its military operation in Gaza. Not a single one of the few Arab countries that maintain dialogue with Israel has done so. Neither diplomatic nor economic relations have been broken off. In three weeks, the Arab leaders have not been unanimous in denouncing the Israeli aggression.
It goes without saying that all statements and resolutions are no more than words, but this is what the Arab people expected. Watching horrible television reports from Gaza, ordinary Arabs are critical of their leaders' restraint. In many countries, their attitudes are being fueled by the opposition, first of all, the Islamists.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which did not attend the summit in Qatar and took a very restrained position, have been criticized the strongest in many Arab countries although they have done more than others to stabilize the situation in Gaza. Backed by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, they managed to compel the UN Security Council to pass resolution 1860, which Israelis themselves considered their diplomatic defeat. Moreover, Cairo was continuously holding talks between Israel and Hamas, and scored some success on that front.
Making recent attempts to become new regional centers of influence, Doha and Ankara actively engaged in diplomatic mediation, including in relations between Israel and Arabs. They did a good job but the war in Gaza returned diplomatic advantages to Cairo and Riyadh.
It is hard to predict whether their efforts will be crowned with success. In the last few years, diplomatic achievements have been reduced to zero by the current situation more than once. This is a problem not only for Cairo and Riyadh, but also for all other go-betweens in the Middle East, starting from the United States. However, a position that is based on dialogue amidst all this bloodshed deserves respect.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
