US envoys to the Middle East, retired general Anthony Zinni and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, arrived in Israel Monday for a mediation effort aimed at helping end the 14-month bloodshed between Israel and the Palestinians.
But both Israel and the Palestinians are skeptical about the US envoys' chances of achieving a stable ceasefire, as the Palestinians do not believe Washington will pressure Israel and the Israelis doubt the Palestinian National Authority is willing and capable to stop attacks against Israelis.
Observers here said that Zinni and Burns will meet with daunting challenges in their mission because they came neither with right reasons nor at the right time.
The observers believed the envoys came to the region neither because the US administration sees a real chance for brokering a deal, nor it has the passion to push through a final settlement, but because it has come under pressure from Arab and European governments, whose support is needed for its war against terrorism.
Months of violence, hundreds of casualties and the hardening of public opinion on both sides have made US officials realize that conditions now are not better for a cooling-off than they were in June, when US Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet managed to forge a ceasefire, although the agreement has not been fully implemented.
The arrival of the US envoys was greeted with a suicide bombing by the radical Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) at the Erez border to avenge Israel's assassination of its top military commander Mahmoud Abu Hanoud.
Their arrival was also greeted with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's reiteration of his bottom-line demand for a week of absolute calm before implementing the Mitchell recommendations for a ceasefire.
Sharon's preconditions have been described by US Secretary of State Colin Powell as "obstacles blocking the path back to the negotiating table."
The immediate challenges facing Zinni and Burns will be persuading Israel to give up the demand for seven days of absolute quiet before returning to the negotiating table.
The envoys also must try to avoid endless meetings that will lead to inability for both sides to take actions to end the violence.
Sharon has formed a professional team to hold talks with the US mission, and nominated ex-general and counter-terrorism adviser Meir Dagan as the team leader.
Palestinian officials noted that the nomination shows that Sharon wants the team to focus on security issues only, rather than political and diplomatic issues.
The Palestinians, who view Dagan as a hardliner even among rightist Israeli officials, said the choice was one more indication that Sharon has no intention of making peace.
Sharon, who is to meet with Zinni and Burns on Tuesday, has also tried to lower expectations about their chances of success.
"Whoever thinks, only as a result of this visit, there will be a far-reaching diplomatic arrangement is mistaken," Sharon told hard-line Likud Party allies Thursday.
( November 27, 2001)
