More important is Israel's commitment to implementing the provisions of the deal. However, past experience with Netanyahu in respect of suspending the Oslo Accords and the Hebron agreement does not prophesy well for him in that respect. Egypt fears he would revert to his usual extremist and counter peace attitude. A just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East crisis is certainly in the interest of all peoples in the region. Once peace is established, once fighting and conflicts are brought to an end and once stability prevails, nothing could hinder the process of construction and development, of raising peoples' standards of living, and of uprooting poverty and backwardness.
Every step taken on the road to peace is to the benefit of our peoples.
It becomes natural thus that the deal signed on Friday last between the Palestinians and the Israelis should be hailed by people around the world. The only fear is that the Israelis would fail to honor their commitments. Every inch of land ceded by the Israelis is an inch gained by the Palestinians, every inch ceded marks a step forward on the road to Palestinian statehood. All for nothing, not even for a promise of a Palestinian state. Arafat will get 13 per cent of the land, while the remaining 87 per cent stands suspended in the air.