Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/352862
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 JULY 2014 News 7 for a seat on the security council in 2018, ahead of other European candidates Germany and Belgium, this could have unfathomable con- sequences on Malta's excellent rela- tionship with the Arab world. A senior diplomat told MaltaToday that such a move would be "a major shift" in Malta's foreign policy, espe- cially since Malta's unequivocal sup- port for the Palestinian cause since the early seventies. Although the government has so far failed to pronounce itself, this sharp shift could be down to the economic deals signed by Muscat with Israel. The government's failure to deny the report does not necessarily mean that Malta would vote for Israel in four years' time, however if this does happen it could undo efforts by con- secutive administrations, including the present one, to strengthen ties with Arab countries, especially in North Africa and the Gulf. Malta-Israel relations While Malta's warm ties with the Palestinians are well documented, relations with Israel were always tricky, given its notorious "with us or against us" rhetoric. However, in recent years relations between the two countries have undergone a silent transformation. MaltaToday is informed that Mus- cat's visit to Israel last year, was orig- inally planned for early 2011, howev- er former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had postponed the visit fol- lowing the outbreak of violence in Libya in February of the same year. The gradual shift in Malta's foreign policy over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in 2005, when then foreign minister Michael Frendo, de- cided to open an embassy in Tel Aviv and another in Ramallah in the West Bank. Frendo was also the first Maltese foreign minister to visit Israel and during his visit in February 2005 he reaffirmed Malta's commitment to the peace process in the Middle East. "Malta was always consistent in its belief about a peace process which would lead to two states – Palestine and Israel – to live together," Frendo had said in his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian ministers. Frendo had also underlined Malta's desire to further develop bilateral re- lations with Israel, especially in view of Malta's membership of the EU. Malta's diplomatic presence in the land of the occupier and of the occu- pied was justified by the foreign of- fice "to provide first hand reporting on the situation and developments on the ground." In Frendo's words, Malta "needed to have these two representations be- cause you cannot be a contributor to peace in the region without engaging with both parties to the conflict." Since 1975, the Maltese govern- ment has been the Rapporteur on the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People – a role Israel does not appreciate. Former President Guido de Marco was rudely frisked by Israeli soldiers on a visit 10 years ago in which he persisted in visiting then Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in defiance of Israel's bullying tactics. But it was de Marco, as foreign minister in 1994, who was asked by his then Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, to persuade the late Yasser Arafat to resume talks after the lat- ter had suspended them in the wake of the Hebron massacre, when Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein killed 30 Muslims by showering them with bullets at a mosque. Perhaps the greatest unsaid be- tween Israel and Malta is the murder of Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shqaqi in October 1995 in Malta. With the Israeli overseas secret service Mos- sad blamed for the assassination in cold blood in Sliema, the Maltese government never publicly named anyone and Israel never commented on the case. De Marco had however said "we would not accept any set- tling of scores in our country." The opening of the embassies in 2009 was a historic event, especially since Israel had closed its embassy in Malta in 1982 following the botched attempt to kidnap the Israeli Charge d'Affaires by the Abu Nidal group, which was classified as a terrorist or- ganisation by the US, Israel and the EU. On 23 September 1982, four men attempted to kidnap Esther Milo as she was about to enter her car. How- ever, Milo was only lightly injured and the attempt failed. Break with tradition In comments to MaltaToday, his- torian Henry Frendo said he was "perplexed" by the government's po- sition. "While the government condemned the disproportionate force being used by the Israelis, at the same time it seems that it will be supporting Is- rael's bid to sit on the UN Security Council," he said. Frendo noted that the "confused" position was very distant from the positions taken by consecutive gov- ernments, especially those led by Dom Mintoff and the PN adminis- trations led by Eddie Fenech Adami and Guido de Marco, who famously championed the Palestinian cause. Asked what caused the change, Frendo said, "you would need to ask foreign minister George Vella," whom the historian described as one of the forerunners of the Mediterra- nean focus in Malta's foreign policy. Sociologist and former Green Party chairperson Michael Briguglio at- tributed the change in position to Muscat's recent visit to Israel, when the Prime Minister sealed a number of agreements with the Jewish State, spanning from tourism to health and from energy to research and devel- opment. In his October visit, Muscat had highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation between the two countries, however he failed to make any reference to the Pal- estinian issue in his meetings with his Israeli counterpart, Benyamin Netanyahu and a number of his min- isters. "The Prime Minister is free to visit Israel however it seems that there is a shift from the policies espoused by Dom Mintoff and Guido de Marco, who always championed the Pal- estinians' right to resist the theft of their land," Briguglio said. He added that Malta was not alone in its reluctance to take a clear stand against the Israeli "aggression," not- ing that the EU's passiveness and failure to impose sanctions was "scandalous." "I'm concerned by Malta's decision not to make its voice heard and influ- ence the EU to take a clear stand. As a neutral country, Malta not only has a duty but it is obliged to take a stand in favour of peace and against the indiscriminate aggression on Gaza, where schools, hospitals and a UN shelter have been bombed by Israel," Briguglio said, adding that he hoped that Muscat would change his stance as he has done on a number of other issues. foreign policy The statement said that military trade and joint military-related research rela- tions with Israel embolden Israeli im- punity in committing grave violations of international law and facilitate the entrenchment of Israel's system of oc- cupation, colonisation and systematic denial of Palestinian rights. This was signed by a number of il- lustrious names, including Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Betty Williams, Adolfo Peres Esquivel, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and Rigoberta Menchú, musicians Roger Waters and Brian Eno, academic Noam Chmosky, journalist John Pilger, author Slavoj Zizek and liberation theologian Frei Betto. They called on the UN and govern- ments across the world to take immedi- ate steps to implement a comprehensive and legally binding military embargo on Israel, similar to that imposed on South Africa during apartheid. condemn Israeli 'aggression' File photo: Alfred Sant, Eddie Fenech Adami and Guido de Marco, wearing the keffiyah, later joined a Palestinian peace march