Al-Ahram Weekly interviewed Mohamed Sid-Ahmed who said,”

"The demands of the two sides are centred on a number of issues. Israel's main demand, of course, is an immediate and complete ceasefire by Palestinian factions. Once that demand is met, Israel will withdraw from Jericho then from four other West Bank towns, including Ramallah, Bethlehem and Tulkarm, with at least a fortnight separating one withdrawal from the next. The Egyptian and Jordanian ambassadors will be returning to Tel-Aviv if the summit proves to be successful.”

and reasoned

"The Israelis were adamant on excluding such vital issues as Jerusalem, the Palestinian right of return, the security fence (still under construction) and the roadmap from the discussions in Sharm El-Sheikh. As no genuine peace can be envisaged in the absence of a serious discussion of these highly sensitive issues, the fact that they were sidelined only confirms that the entire process is aimed more at testing the Palestinians than at reviving a peace process".

You may recall that this summit did not involve a signed document. It consisted of a speech by Sharon and one by Abbas. Attempts were made to iron out the differences apparent in these speeches with only some success and questions were not entertained afterwards.

Nevertheless the summit represents a focus on the immediate moves to advance the peace process. It is clear that both sides have committed to a ceasefire as noted above but certainly not the dismantling of the terror infrastructure. As part of this understanding Israel will release 900 prisoners (which has been done) and will transfer security control over certain cities to the PA.

In an article in Islam Online entitled Sharm El Sheikh & al-Aqaba both summits are put in context.. You will recall that there was so little in agreement that two separate conferences were required and Syria and Lebanon were not invited. “due to their unwillingness to fully endorse US plans for the region.”

“In light of the bombs that shook both Riyadh and Casablanca, Sharon’s formal acceptance of the roadmap only after US security assurances were given, and America’s failure to turn its military victory into some form of stability in Iraq, the summits at both Sharm El Sheikh and al-Aqaba are indicative of the complexities awaiting the US in its bid for regional dominance. However, with American troops present in Afghanistan, Iraq, and dozens of other Arab and Islamic states, US summit diplomacy becomes a clear attempt to institutionalize the new pax-Americana in the region with the help of ailing Arab allies.

US-endorsed diplomacy is always invigorated when the Arab system is suffering from exceptional weakness and recovering from a crushing defeat. In terms of its timing, and even in many of its basic tenets, the new roadmap is very similar to the 1982 Reagan Plan which was presented only after the PLO had been evacuated from Lebanon and Beirut was occupied. Moreover, the new summits bear a striking resemblance to the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference that was convened after Iraq had been defeated in the Gulf War and a blatantly pro-US regional configuration was in the making."

Despite that, the diplomatic hurdles of setting up the new summits have proven quite difficult. The United States originally wanted one summit, but sources said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah refused to attend a summit with Sharon who, in turn, was not particularly eager to be surrounded by Arab leaders. So the Bush administration had to schedule back-to-back summits, one with Arab leaders in Egypt and one with the Israeli and Palestinian premiers in Jordan.

The Arab-American Summit in Sharm El Sheikh on June 3rd is expected to host, in addition to George W. Bush, the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, as well as Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas. Then, on June 4th, Bush is due to meet in Jordan with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, both separately and together.“

and concludes

“Despite US rhetoric that the summits aim to end violence and misery for the people of the Middle East, the plight of the Palestinians and Iraqis continues under occupation, and the Arab people remain victims of the repressive reign of US-supported regimes. The flagrant imbalance of power currently prevailing in the Middle East in favor of the US and Israel leaves no doubt that both the Sharm El Sheikh and al-Aqaba summits will deal with a long list of US demands given to Arab states for immediate implementation.

In addition to the obvious attempts by the US to secure unequivocal Arab support for the roadmap, chief among the US’s specific concerns in the summits would be an end to all forms of incitement against Israel, more repression of Islamist movements and resistance groups, and more support for US policy in Iraq, in return for some cosmetic steps in the future to alleviate Palestinian suffering and the aforementioned carrot of Arab-American economic partnership.”

Little has changed since that time. Israel is more then happy to effect the limited goals of the summit. It’s the PA that must reign in their only effective weapon to bring about change. Hamas may be prepared to have a ceasefire providing a little violence is permitted to keep the home fires burning and providing they are permitted to rearm. Thus a semblance of a ceasefire will be achieved and Israel will cede security control over certain cities.

Then What?