Haaretz
Tishrei 22, 5766
James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's special envoy for
the disengagement, has criticized Israel for holding up agreements on
opening Gaza Strip border crossings to the passage of people and goods and
on improving Palestinian mobility in the West Bank.
In a letter
sent last week to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and the
foreign ministries of Britain, Russia and the United States, Wolfensohn
wrote: "The Government of Israel, with its important security concerns, is
loath to relinquish control, almost acting as though there has been no
withdrawal, delaying making difficult decisions and preferring to take
difficult matters back into slow-moving
subcommittees."
Accompanying the letter, which was dated October
16, was a report written on October 17 regarding Wolfensohn's latest
visit, from October 7-12. The introduction to the report stated: "The
Special Envoy was disappointed that none of the key movement issues has
been resolved. Without a dramatic improvement in Palestinian movement and
access, within appropriate security arrangements for Israel, the economic
revival essential to a resolution of the conflict will not be
possible."
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz,
indicated that Israel is preventing the implementation of a proposal by
Wolfensohn and the World Bank to introduce a temporary system for allowing
people and goods to move between Gaza and the West Bank in
convoys.
"Despite an earlier commitment in June to introduce
convoys, GOI has not been willing to enter bilateral or trilateral
discussions on their implementation," Wolfensohn wrote.
Since the
pullout was completed, the Erez Checkpoint has been almosthermetically
sealed to Palestinian traffic. Before the disengagement, 6,500 people went
through Erez daily. That number dropped in September to 100, on average,
and to zero at the beginning of this month. The Karni cargo crossing has
also been either closed or particularly slow.
Wolfensohn thinks
that the convoy system should be used until mid-November. "The system
should be serious with a regular schedule and not two or three buses every
few days," he wrote.
The letter also criticized the Palestinian
Authority - for worsening the economic crisis by deciding on a salary hike
in the public sector, for the internal anarchy and the decline in the PA's
functioning. He warned that these factors, combined with the lack of
Palestinian mobility, will take a toll on donor countries' willingness to
honor their pledges.
And Wolfensohn was careful to direct his
appeal to all sides: "If all of us Palestinians, Israelis, our friends in
Egypt and donors miss this opportunity for change, we will regret it for
the next decade," he wrote.
But Wolfensohn's main complaints
concerned the Rafah crossing, the link between Gaza and the West Bank and
mobility within the West Bank and they were directed at Israel. "The
Israelis have not agreed to accept the EU's generous offer to consider the
role of 'a third party'" in supervising the Rafah crossing temporarily,
the report stated. "The Israelis cited the need for additional internal
consultation," whereas Wolfensohn urged Israel to begin talks with the
Europeans to define their third-party role. In his estimation, if it were
not for Israel's tendency to transfer the few remaining issues in dispute
to subcommittees, the Rafah crossing could be reopened
quickly.
Agreement on linking the Gaza Strip to the West Bank could
also be reached "with 2-3 days of concentrated effort," but six weeks have
elapsed since Israel agreed to negotiate with the PA without results. "We
do not have the luxury of adopting such a leisurely approach and our
Israeli colleagues have promised a greater sense of urgency" after the
High Holidays, Wolfensohn wrote.
He repeatedly urged Israel to
engage in immediate talks on freedom of movement and the crossings,
stating: "I believe that economic activity is the greatest contributor to
security for both sides."
Palestinian officials who followed
Wolfensohn's talks with both sides on the eve of disengagement were
disappointed at the time by his failure to obtain Israeli agreement on
vital matters such as the crossings and freedom of movement. Wolfensohn's
sole achievement, they told Haaretz, was purchasing the settlers'
greenhouses a relatively marginal matter from a Palestinian standpoint,
which largely benefited the Israelis. Wolfensohn's letter also cites the
greenhouses as his only major success: They already provide employment for
some 3,000 workers.
An agreement was also reached on removing the
debris from the settlements, but this has not yet been implemented because
of Egyptian delays.
Sources in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau
said in response that Wolfensohn's letter would be studied after the
Sukkot holiday. Other government officials said that the letter points to
poor functioning by the defense establishment in conducting negotiations
with the Quartet envoy.
"It's nothing to get worked up about," a
senior defense official said. "Wolfensohn is a serious man who is trying
to advance all his goals, and Israel is working, in accordance with
security considerations, to help the Palestinians and solve the problem of
the crossings."