Rabat, 12/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - Academics, members of the Euro-Mediterranean network of political and strategic studies institutes, Euromesco, are rallying to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. They believe the current violence will only “engender suffering and hatred. It will not eliminate Hamas or create security for Israel”.
The initiative has given rise to polemic. Israeli members of the network dispute its legitimacy, saying it is not up to Euromesco to take position.
Those signing the initiative, however, stress that their approach is personal, motivated by the gravity of the situation. Moroccan academic Abdallah Saaf, Euromesco President, explains in an interview with the electronic newsletter MedAfrique that the “old method” (roadmap, etc) has failed and cannot be resumed. He states that the stage by stage approach, taking things one step at a time to create trust, with partial dialogue on a step by step basis as in Camp David, Oslo, and the “roadmap” have lost their credibility. It is no longer possible to do things gradually. Matters must be tackled in an overall way. Speaking of Europe's role, he states that Europe has shown it is able to form a significant multilateral structure in the face of American power, mainly during the two Bush mandates, and is able to sketch out its own approach. This role, however, is “still vague”, he states. (F.B./transl.jl)