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The international conference on Palestine's restructuring wrapped up in London Tuesday with Palestine committing to security reforms and the Middle East Roadmap peace plan and the international community pledging to bolster peacemaking with Israel and help build a future viable state.
The meeting, attended by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, foreign ministers and senior officials from some 23 nations and representatives from six international organizations including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, agreed after a day-long session on practical measures necessary for a Palestinian state.
According to the agreement, the participants would work through a US-led security coordinating group to help the Palestinian Authority (PA) meet its security commitments under the Roadmap.
They would help the Palestinians rebuild security forces, provide financial support and expertise for Palestinian elections, encourage donors to meet commitments to Palestinians, as well as encourage cooperation between Palestine and Israel.
In a blueprint for reforms, the PA promised it would implement the national security plan in the US-backed Roadmap that calls for dismantling militant groups and ending attacks on Israelis.
It also set out commitments to holding parliamentary elections in mid-July, completing ongoing local elections, passing a new electoral law and taking further actions against corruption.
Palestine also promised to respond to Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and parts of West Bank by setting up a dedicated administration to handle transfer of properties.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who hosted the one-day event, hailed the meeting as laying "foundation stones" for a future Palestinian state, while Abbas described the meeting as "positive" and "fruitful."
Rice, who urged Abbas to take firm action against militant groups and asked other countries to help Palestine with money and political support, echoed the two in saying that prospects for peace are best in years, stressing the United States would do its utmost to bring peace to the region.
The London meeting, held after Abbas was elected the new Palestinian leader after Yasser Arafat, came amid a series of advances including a summit between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a cease-fire by militant groups, and a transfer of security control and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
It also followed US President George W. Bush's recent trip to Europe, where he promised to boost the Middle East peace process with his European counterparts.
Analysts here said the meeting, which brought together an impressive cast of characters on ways to support the Palestinians, showed the international community's willingness to make most of the revived momentum in the peace process.
However, critics said the meeting achieved little as Israel did not participate. The importance of the meeting should not be overstated, they said, warning peace in the Middle East would not depend on meetings in far-off capitals.
"It is true that the conference will not be the great turning point...That was obvious from the moment Israel declared that it would not attend," the British Independent newspaper said.
There is already a cloud over the conference in the wake of the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week which killed five Israelis and wounded many more. Israel has been demanding that Abbas take further actions against militant groups.
Analysts said the conference would not solve the problems facing the Middle East, given the Israeli tough stance that all peace moves would be frozen until the Palestinian leadership destroyed militant groups and dismantled their infrastructure after last week's suicide bombing.
On the other hand, Abbas is still facing challenges to take full control of the militant groups in Palestine, analysts said. If he failed to satisfy Israeli concerns, analysts feared the way to negotiations would be blocked again.
Will the Roadmap move on to its next stage? The answer depends on a number of factors, the Independent said. It remains to be seen what success Abbas would have in reforming the Palestinian Authority, it said.
And then, there is the question of Israeli intentions, the paper said. Does Ariel Sharon really want a viable Palestinian state, or merely a more secure Israel, the paper asked, stressing that none of these questions have been resolved at the London meeting.
(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2005)
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