World leaders head to Middle East
Summit on terrorism
March 12, 1996
Web posted at: 3:25 p.m. EST (2025 GMT)From Correspondent Ralph Begleiter
SHARM el-SHEIKH, Egypt (CNN) -- Heads of state or representatives from more than two dozen countries will join U.S. President Bill Clinton at the tiny Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday for a one-day summit on terrorism.
"This summit of the peacemakers can be an important step in the process toward peace in the Middle East," Clinton said Tuesday as he left Washington for Sharm el-Sheikh. (158K AIFF sound or 158K WAV sound)
On the surface, the summit could appear to be a speechmaking event, but both U.S. and Arab leaders are setting the stage for some concrete steps against terrorism, and in favor of more peacemaking.
Hosni Mubarak's Egyptian government, in particular, is scrambling to make this unprecedented gathering of leaders in the Middle East more than just another round of speeches.
The government is sending hundreds of European tourists out of the beach resort to the pharonic temples of Luxor for the day to make room for more than two dozen leaders and their heavy security contingents from Europe, the Persian Gulf, North Africa and the Arab-Israeli region. They'll all be arriving at Sharm el-Sheikh's single-runway airport.
The recent campaign of suicide bombings in Israel prompted the summit. U.S. and Israeli officials want to focus on steps to stop terrorism, but Arab leaders want to try to restrain Israel's reaction to the bombings.
Egypt chose one of its most remote, isolated spots, at the southern tip of the Sinai desert, to keep world leaders safe from the very terrorism they're meeting to condemn.
Pressure on Arafat
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat comes to the summit already able to claim a tougher line on Hamas militants, because his security forces have arrested some Hamas ringleaders. But diplomats say taking his place for the first time at a summit like this one will put Arafat under even more pressure to be aggressive against groups that threaten the peace process.
Getting the Arabs and the Israelis to share intelligence and police information on terrorism is one of Washington's big goals at the summit. Inviting European leaders is part of the U.S. strategy to urge them -- especially France and Germany -- to cut off business ties with Iran, to deny Tehran the cash it allegedly uses to support groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
It's unclear if another country the U.S. accuses of supporting terrorist groups -- Syria -- will send a representative to the summit. Egyptian officials say Syria declined its invitation. But well-placed U.S. government sources say that Syria has not yet responded, and that it is still possible Damascus will send somebody. The United States has been holding out hope that Syria's four years of negotiations with Israel might persuade Damascus to take part in a broad international effort to push the peace process.
Arabs hope to restrain Israel
Pushing the peace process -- rather than reacting to the bombings of the past few weeks -- is the top priority of key Arab leaders at the summit. They hope to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres to avoid taking anti-terrorism measures that give the appearance of reasserting control over the West Bank and Gaza.
That, the Arabs say, could set-back peace agreements Israel has with Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians, and slow negotiations with others.
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