By David Harris
No dramatic announcements came out of the meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his host, US President Barack Obama on Tuesday. However, the session was yet further proof that Egypt is once again at the center of all events in the Middle East, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This is Mubarak's first visit to the White House in five years. The previous US President George W. Bush chose to sideline Egypt to some extent and to punish Cairo for what Washington saw as its poor record on human rights. But Obama has shown he believes in engagement.
On leaving Washington, the Egyptian team felt confident enough to announce that it hopes the Obama administration would soon unveil an outline of its peace proposal that would bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table after an almost 12-month hiatus.
However, perhaps surprisingly, as far as Mubarak is concerned, the starting point for an Israeli-Palestinian solution lies entirely in the Palestinian arena. While he does demand that Israel meet its obligations, his spokesman told reporters that there can be no Israeli-Palestinian settlement until the Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, end their differences.
Only Egypt appears capable of bringing that dispute to an end, according to Yoram Meital, director of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in southern Israel.
"Egypt's role here is crucial. From the time that Hamas took control of Gaza, it's been clear that Egypt is the country with the most sway over Hamas," Meital said.
He added that this is not because Cairo particularly agrees with Hamas' policies, but rather the result of Hamas' geographical location. The movement's main scope of operations is the Gaza Strip, which borders Egypt.
Agreeing that Egypt's role is vital in dealing with the Hamas-Fatah standoff, Elie Podeh, a professor in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, points out that all its attempts have been for naught thus far.
"This shows that despite Egypt's importance, its ability to coerce these organizations is very small. But then again, Saudi Arabia also tried to arbitrate between them. That resulted in a unity government being created, but that disbanded after a brief period," said Podeh.
The comparison between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is frequently made these days as Riyadh appears to be as dominant a player as Cairo both in the Middle East and on the international stage.
