The Arab obligation

Washington Post: President Bush may be able to wrest some incremental progress from his summit meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers today. Israel's Ariel Sharon may offer to take down some of the scores of new Jewish settlement sites in the West Bank and Gaza Strip established in the past two years. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas may say the Islamic extremist movement Hamas will end terrorist attacks. Each side may issue a statement accepting the other's right to sovereignty -- the first step in the U.S.-backed "road map" for the peace process. Such steps fall well short of what the road map calls for, but they would be a start, worth Mr. Bush's trip to the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Less clear is what Mr. Bush might gain from his visit Tuesday to the nearby Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he met the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain. Yet this preliminary summit, which also included Mr. Abbas, may be more important for the nascent peace process than the Israeli-Palestinian talks. Recognizing that the absence of Arab support helped doom previous attempts at a settlement, the Bush administration has rightly insisted on participation by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. They should support a two-state solution and condemn violence, strongly support Mr. Abbas, block funds to Palestinian extremists and hold out the prospect of normal relations with Israel.
Promises, promises
The Arabs have promised to do all these things, but they have yet to make a sufficient effort. Egypt's security services have been quietly working with Mr. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, to rebuild Palestinian police forces. But in public, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher recently proclaimed his government's continued allegiance to Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian president, who is doing his best to undermine Abu Mazen and the peace process. The Saudi government Monday condemned terrorism and promised to control funding for it from Saudi sources. But the reason Mr. Bush has to attend two summits in two places this week is that Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah refuses to cross paths with Mr. Sharon. Not even present at Sharm el-Sheikh are Syria and Lebanon, which support Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist movements.
Like the Palestinians, Arab leaders want the United States to extract concessions from Israel without offering reciprocal steps. Some may believe their acquiescence to the war in Iraq entitles them. Yet while U.S. pressure on Israel may be one part of the solution, no peace will be possible unless Arab leaders take aggressive action to stamp out terrorism, support new Palestinian leaders and decisively change their relations with Israel, in public as well as in private. Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas appear ready to make a start; Arab leaders should do the same.