Home » Politics & Society » Middle East Politics » Peace Moves Slowly

Peace Moves Slowly

© lawhawk

Peace Moves Slowly

The Israeli government may be signaling a change in its policy towards its involvement in Lebanon with its acceptance of the UN Resolution calling for its withdrawal from the Israeli-carved security zone in Southern Lebanon. Israel has continued to slog its way through its entanglements in Lebanon since the 1983 invasion to create a buffer zone against terrorist attacks. Lebanese and Syrian officials denounced the Israeli acceptance as a sham as the Israelis had attached conditions to the withdrawal that go beyond what the UN Resolution says.

The Lebanese government is struggling to rebuild itself following years of civil war and distrust among rival factions. It is currently facing a national debt of $14 billion and could face worse problems as several investors in major projects have pulled out due to concerns about the strength of the Lebanese economy. Although this has hampered the recovery, some projects including the renovation and expansion of the Beirut International Airport have proceeded through completion. Once the crown jewel of the Eastern Mediterranean, Beirut suffered horribly from civil war and the Israeli invasion that reduced much of the city to rubble.

Palestinian-Israeli relations continue to falter as the latest efforts of US Envoy Dennis Ross have failed to convince Israel to withdraw from 13 percent of land in the West Bank. Israeli officials point that they will not withdraw from any territory unless the Palestinian Authority cracks down on terrorists.

The terrorist group Hamas has been continuing to denounce the peace process and the death this week of a major figure in the military wing of the group has spurred increased tensions among the Fatah branch of the PLO, Israel and Hamas as Israeli security is on heightened alert. Many Palestinians blame Israel for the death of Mohiyedine Sharif suspected of carrying out several deadly bombings in Jerusalem last year and have vowed revenge.

Elsewhere, the inspections of Iraqi palaces continued without interruption as UN inspectors and diplomatic teams went through the last of the palaces in search of information and documents that could shed light on the Iraqi plans to build weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqi government is prohibited from having any weapons of mass destruction as a result of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and UN Resolution 661 and 687 that call for sanctions against Iraq until the Security Council is convinced that the Iraqis are in compliance with the UN Resolutions. Iraq continues to proclaim that it is in full compliance with the resolutions and several countries including France, China and Russia have been calling on the US to bring an end to the sanctions which have been devastating on the Iraqi population.

The copyright of the article Peace Moves Slowly in Middle East Politics is owned by . Permission to republish Peace Moves Slowly in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.