MIDDLE EAST / EUROPE
Letter from Israel
THE opening of the Regional Peace Conference on the Middle East this week in Madrid is the centre of attention in the world media. However the affected public, whether Israeli or Palestinian, is less excited.
There is none of the enthusiasm shown at the time of the coming of Egypt's president Sadat to Jerusalem in 1977. The Israeli population is torn between scepticism and fear of finding itself in the dock, confront-
Led with a judge in the hands of its opponents.
The 30,000 or so Israeli pacifists who demonstrated last Saturday in response to a call from the Peace Now movement were unclear whether they were for or against Shamir, since the latter seems to be playing the only game that matters for the Israeli left - the one dictated by the White House. The right, who demonstrated two days later in response to a call from colonists' and far right organizations, was certainly clearer; it knows that it can only gain by upping the bidding and denouncing the alleged capitulation of the government. In fact, some members of this government were on the platform at this demonstration, as the crowd shouted "Death to the Arabs!"
Meanwhile the Palestinian population is well aware that it can expect nothing from the Madrid conference. This is even true of those who support the decision by the Palestinian National Council to accept the draconian, not to say humiliating US conditions and attend a conference at which all discussion on Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza is ruled out, knowing that the dice are loaded and that Madrid will resolve nothing.
The mood among Palestinians is a mixture of anger and despair, and a new wave of attacks can be expected, one of whose aims will be to remind those presently negotiating in the name of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories that they have no mandate for bargaining away the intifada. This latter, even if it has marked time over the past year, remains the sole means by which the Palestinians can finally obtain the recognition of their right to self-determination. - Michel Warshawsky