Israel: The EU hopes small steps may breathe some life into search for peace, writes Deaglán de Bréadún
There are few brief stretches of land more frightening than the Erez crossing-point from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
It is a no-man's-land between warring Israelis and Palestinians. At any time there could be an attack by Hamas or the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, or alternatively, a nervous teenage conscript on the Israeli side could decide that your rucksack contains a bomb and not personal possessions and take appropriate action.
On one occasion an Israeli soldier asked me to leave my holdall behind a stone barrier while I stepped forward to identify myself. It was obviously a precaution in case the bag was really a bomb.
Guard duty at Erez is one of the short straws in Israeli military service. The young conscripts - generally aged between 18 and 21 - are invariably polite but efficient. If they survive their three years' service, they will probably take a year off in some place like Nepal or South America before rejoining Israeli society.
Last Wednesday a young Palestinian woman, Reem Salah al-Rayashi, approached the Erez checkpoint from the Gaza side. When the metal detector was activated, she claimed to have a metal plate in her leg. The boy soldier called a female colleague and, while they were all waiting, the 22-year-old Palestinian mother of two children blew herself up, taking two soldiers, a policeman and a security guard with her. The dead soldiers were aged 19 and 20, the policeman 22, the security guard 29 years.
Getting blown up by a bomb at such close range is a death without dignity. We know too well from Northern Ireland how bodies become broken and disintegrated in the blast. It must add immeasurably to the grief of the bereaved relatives.
Gaza, of course, is a warehouse crammed with people. A population of 1.2 million is crammed into 365 square kilometres. Such conditions are bound to produce discontent, especially in present circumstances. In this factory of grievances there is a ready hearing for the militant Hamas message, especially in the wake of the latest Israeli military incursion. One bloody deed gives rise to another and at time of writing Israel is threatening to assassinate Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the militant Hamas faction that included Reem Salah al-Rayashi among its members.
The endless blood-letting on both sides, usually among the young people, increases the responsibility on their leaders to come up with and implement a viable solution to the conflict. There is a huge responsibility also on the international community to facilitate and assist dialogue, negotiation and agreement.
Hence Brian Cowen's presence in the region last week, on behalf of Ireland's EU presidency.
The EU's interest is not purely altruistic because, as the Nobel laureate Shimon Peres pointed out after a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, two new member-states, Cyprus and Malta, are quite close, and once Turkey joins, the EU will have a border with Syria and Iraq.
The EU's contribution to resolving the conflict has been mainly financial: it provides substantial sums to shore up the Palestinian Authority. On the diplomatic level, its role has been more modest, but this is starting to change.
Cowen's meeting with the "Bulldozer" Sharon was always going to be the most important. The prime minister is not best-known for his conciliatory skills and the meeting promised to be a tough one. In the event, although he gave little ground on the major issues, Sharon was amiable and friendly. By way of chit-chat he discussed farming topics with the Minister and when they discussed the serious business, the Israeli leader listened patiently as Cowen outlined the EU's position.
Ireland has not had the happiest of relationships with Israel over the years. It was tardy in permitting an Israeli embassy in Dublin. Political and public opinion are sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians and tend to be critical of Israeli security policies. The experiences of Irish troops on UN duty in southern Lebanon did little to encourage a warm and friendly relationship between our two countries.
The Italians, who preceded Ireland in the presidency, are probably Israel's closest friends and allies in the EU. Ireland is seen as a rather more dubious proposition and it was no surprise that Cowen came in for some sharp questioning from Israeli journalists in Tel Aviv. In particular, they wanted to know the EU's position on the decision of the UN General Assembly to refer Israel's West Bank security barrier to the International Court of Justice. Cowen said no position about making a submission had yet been taken because no consensus had so far emerged in the EU.
The level of security is a good indicator of tension in the region. Arriving slightly late for a press conference of the Israeli and Irish foreign ministers, I was asked: "Do you have any weapons on you?" The precautions at Mr Sharon's office in Jerusalem are even greater, with journalists being quizzed about their travels to other countries in the region, even to friendly Jordan and Egypt.
Israel is under pressure, and not just from suicide bombers. Tourism to this beautiful land seems almost non-existent and there are other challenges to basic economic survival. Inevitably, foreign investors will think twice about a country which is undergoing a type of siege. Long-term population trends in the region are also worrying for the Israelis.
In Israel and later in the Egyptian capital, the Minister called for steps to be taken, even small ones, to generate some impetus into the process. As a member of the "quartet" - with the UN, US and Russian Federation - the EU subscribes to the propositions in the "road map", which aims to establish a Palestinian state, side-by-side with Israel.
But, as Cowen suggested in a speech at Tel Aviv University, it may be that the initial steps are too steep. Various ideas are in the air, whereby the EU could try to play a constructive role and help to ease tensions on such issues as the West Bank security fence, which is bitterly resented by Palestinians.
Something needs to be done to revive the peace process, because the dominant leaders on both sides, Sharon and Arafat, seem to be running out of ideas. The grace and wisdom of a Nelson Mandela are required, but there are no Mandelas at present on the scene.