Mere Rhetoric: Egypt Violates The Camp David Accords. Again.

We're trying to get caught up on the last two weeks of news, and we're three days late on this story, which we found through Lynn. It seems that certain high-ranking Egyptian officials have some maverik opinions on the disposition of land in Israel:

The good news is that Egyptian Foreign Minister for Judicial Issues Abdel-Aziz Seif El-Nasr on Sunday told parliament he is against Cairo demanding Eilat as part of Egypt. The bad news is that Nasr said the Red Sea resort is "Palestinian land." Government sources in Jerusalem characterized Nasr's response to a parliamentary debate on the matter as "twisted." They said Israel would have preferred had he said there was no question Eilat was part of Israel, since this had been settled in the Egyptian-Israeli peace accords and the arbitration that followed regarding Taba. But, the officials said, Israel would not make a major issue out of Nasr's comments, saying they did not reflect official Egyptian policy. The officials said the issue likely would be raised after Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit arrives here Wednesday for a visit to discuss the situation in the Palestinian Authority.

The open secret, of course, is that this official apparently agrees with the vast, vast, vast majority of the Arab world - that all of Israel is Palestinian land, and Israel should be wiped off the map.

For the record, the Camp David Accords stipulate - explicitly - that Palestinian rights are to be resolved by negotiating over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Eilat, of course, is neither in the Gaza Strip nor the West Bank. That means that all the other parts of the treaty - stuff like committing to recognizing each other's sovereignty over each other's territory - are supposed to kick in. This isn't nitpicking - stating that the Palestinians have a right to Eilat makes a mockery of the "peace" part of Camp David - which is, under "land for peace," what Israel was supposed to get by giving up the resource-rich Sinai Peninsula. That's the problem with these treaties - Israel gives up something tangible like land or resources, and in return doesn't even get the appearance of peace.

Jimmy Carter, incidentally, won the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing Camp David as the framework for peace between the Arabs and Israelis. Good to see that it's holding up as well as all of his other helpful interventions into Middle East politics. Although he'd probably blame the whole situation on Israel, for having the nerve to demand that Egypt live up to its treaty obligations.

Here's a little brainteaser for the afternoon: what would happen if a high-ranking Israeli official came out and said that parts of the Sinai Peninsula were actually Jewish land? Not Israeli land, mind you - just land belonging to the Jewish settlers that were removed under Camp David. They want to come back and form their own state now. Do you think that the Egyptians would be as quiet as the Israelis are being?

Previously: Carter Backs Out Of Defending His Book. That Doesn't Seem To Exactly Enhance His Credibility, Ya Know?, US Continues to Exercise "We Were Just Kidding" Clause for Israeli Treaty, Human Rights, WaPo Discovers Egyptian Anti-Israel Movements, Gets Story Wrong Anyway