Fischer Pins Hope on "Road Map" for Mideast Peace

In a speech overshadowed by an Israeli attack on a Palestinian vehicle in Gaza City that claimed five lives, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer called on both Israelis and Palestinians to end their cycle of violence on Wednesday, the last day of his three-day tour of the Middle East.

Speaking in Ramallah after meeting with beleaguered Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his battered headquarters and Prime Minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas, Fischer said: "Stop terror, stop violence and come back to the negotiating table."

Fischer also had a specific message for the Palestinians: speed up cabinet-building and the reform process and pave the way for the official implementation of the West’s "Road map," which according to the minister is "a very dynamic element in the hands of the Palestinians."

Palestinian cabinet building

The "Road Map" to peace is a plan hammered out by the so-called Middle East Quartet, which includes the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Russia.

It aims to bring both the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table and involves a series of steps aimed at creating a Palestinian state by 2005.

Most importantly, the United States, which plays a leading role in the implementation of the "road map," insists that moderate Palestinian prime minister-designate Abbas, the first ever to occupy the new position, should first form a cabinet before it releases details of the peace plan.

Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, is seen by both the EU and the U.S. as a leader who could contribute significantly towards lasting peace in the Middle East -- largely owing to his moderate stance towards Israel. Abbas, appointed by Arafat under intense pressure from Palestinian legislators and international mediators, has criticized the use of armed attacks on Israelis in the uprising or "intifada" as unproductive.

Fischer calls for accelerated reforms

The U.S. insistence that the Palestinian cabinet-building should be a prelude to the release of the "road map" is a point that Foreign Minister Fischer reiterated during his diplomatic trip.

"It’s of absolute importance to speed up the building of the new government and reforms," Fischer said on Wednesday. "Everything depends on the Palestinian government." Abbas’ newly-formed government is expected to launch a new reform drive to root out corruption in the Palestinian Authority and curb violence in the 30-month-old Palestinian uprising.

Fischer’s attempts to revive the "road map" are also seen to target the U.S., which has often postponed its publication in consideration of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Many EU nations have been urging the U.S. to once again play a leading mediating role in the Middle East conflict.

The German foreign minister also met with representatives of the Palestinian Reform Committee in Ramallah on Wednesday, who assured him that the reform process in the autonomous Palestinian territories would continue. Representatives of the committee said it was also necessary to hold Palestinian elections as part of the reform process.

Fischer also reasserted his support for Abbas and urged both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Schalom in meetings on Monday and Tuesday in Israel to "fully support" Abbas and accept the "road map" to peace.

Fischer plays balancing act between Abbas and Arafat

But despite the successful three-day visit, there is little doubt that Fischer’s task of playing mediator in the Middle East the past three days was far from easy given the inner-Palestinian conflict in particular between Abbas and Arafat.

The pro-reform and progressive Abbas remains controversial among the Palestinian population for what is seen as his "soft position" towards Israel. The Americans, Europeans and the Israelis expect Abbas to dismantle the Palestinian security apparatus controlled by Arafat and create new transparent structures. It's a move that is hardly likely to please Arafat, who is reluctant to relinquish his hold on the autonomous territories. Abbas also has to ensure that the Palestinians don't regard him as a mere puppet of Washington especially given the fact that the U.S. and its allies are unpopular at the moment with the Palestinians on account of the Iraq war.

At the same time Fischer’s meeting with Arafat, who still enjoys widespread support among the Palestinians and is seen to be the one who dictates Abbas’ fate, was seen as a controversial move by many.

Leading Israeli politicians criticized Fischer’s meeting with Arafat, who they say is responsible for much of the violence directed at Israelis and is a hindrance to a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict. Arafat also remains boycotted by the U.S.

New Palestinian government-building soon?

Fischer is reported to have told Arafat on Wednesday that a real breakthrough was needed in the Palestinian reform process, hinting that Abbas’ efforts to form a cabinet swiftly should be supported.

Soon after the meeting with Fischer, Arafat told reporters in his office that Abbas had received an extension to form a new cabinet.

Arafat had initially offered last month to make Abbas the first-ever Palestinian prime minister and had given him three weeks to present a cabinet to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). That deadline ended on Tuesday. "He (Abbas) will present the cabinet within the coming few days, and I think it may be on Saturday," Arafat said.