Agence France Presse  --  Arab News

BRUSSELS, 6 March 2004 — A senior US diplomat defended yesterday Washington’s controversial “Greater Middle East” initiative for reform in the region, which has sparked criticism in the Arab world and reservations in Europe.

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman, meeting European allies in Brussels, underlined that the plan is not a substitute for the ailing Israel-Palestinian peace process.

The initiative has provoked criticism in several Arab countries which fear Washington wants to impose its own cultural models on the region, while Europeans have also expressed concerns that the initiative should not distract attention from the need to get the peace process back on track.

But said Grossman: “No one should believe that our idea to support reform in the Middle East is a substitute in any way for our interest in the Middle East peace process.”

“It’s not a substitute but it’s not an excuse for doing nothing either,” he added, speaking after briefing NATO ambassadors and before talks with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Grossman, No. 3 in the US State Department, traveled to Brussels after a tour of the region itself including stops in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain and Morocco seeking to dispel fears about the initiative.

The architects say the US initiative aims to encourage democratic reform and economic opening in the Arab world and other Muslim countries in a bid to abate frustration and poverty on which international terrorism thrives.

Washington hopes to launch its initiative during a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations in June, and is keen to show it is consulting widely on the plans.

His trip to Brussels came as EU heavyweights France and Germany — famously dubbed “Old Europe” by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during the Iraq war crisis — have this week circulated their own vision of the Middle East.

The Franco-German proposals, a copy of which was seen by AFP, notably called for the EU to “define a distinct approach which complements that of the United States, working through its own institutions and instruments”.

And Paris and Berlin noted that “resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict is a strategic priority for Europe. Without this there will be little chance of dealing with other problems in the Middle East.”

During his visit to the Middle East this week Grossman stressed that he wanted to offer help to regional supporters of reform, if they seek it, and to hear their ideas for political and economic reform.

Meanwhile, Israel sealed off the occupied Palestinian territories for fear of attacks during its carnival holiday, while a poll said yesterday that most Israelis want their scandal-dogged prime minister to resign.

With the approach of Purim, Judaism’s most festive celebration, tomorrow, the Israeli Army announced late Thursday that it was sealing the crossings with the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Army radio said the closure would be enforced until Tuesday. The army has blocked off the occupied territories many times before major holidays, but this move comes amid heightened fears of revenge attacks by Hamas after three of its activists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.

On the political front, a new poll showed that Ariel Sharon’s credibility has sunk after yet another hint of scandal tarnished the premier’s reputation.

The poll in the Yediot Ahronot daily showed that 57 percent of Israelis do not believe Sharon is credible, marking a three-year low for the extreme right-wing former general who promised to stem the Palestinian uprising.

Only 41 percent deemed Sharon to be credible, compared with 75 percent at the beginning of his mandate in February 2001. The poll also revealed that a majority of Israelis want Sharon to resign.