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  Israel's dramatic exit out of Gaza was its entrée into both the United Nations and the Muslim world. It was a clever move on the part of Bush's 'man of peace' Ariel Sharon, who faced a leadership challenge while implementing his Gaza strategy, billed as the first step en route to the 'Roadmap'. In reality, it was no such thing.

  Put simply, Israel quit Gaza because it no longer wanted the tiny strip of land, home to some 900,000 Palestinians. From Israel's point of view, protecting its 8,500 colonizers was too costly in both financial terms and loss of Jewish life, and, further, its continuing occupation represented an international public relations disaster.

  From the start, Israel was determined to garner maximum PR mileage out of its pullout by allowing the world's media to converge on its Gaza settlements where, as predicted, ultra-religious colonists would refuse to budge from the land they believe was promised to them.

  And so, scenes of defiant wailing Jews resisting weeping members of the Israeli military and police force from their strongholds atop the roofs of synagogues were dutifully beamed around the world.

  Few networks or papers stressed the fact that ejected settlers were due to receive brand new homes on the occupied West Bank along with fat compensation checks, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers.

  Note that while Israel demolished all the settlers' homes, shops, schools and factories, they deliberately left synagogues intact after removing their religious scrolls, books and records.

  Again, the results were predictable. Angry Palestinians, frustrated over years of being treated as third class citizens on their own land, and denied free passage, vented their ire on buildings still standing. And once again, those images were dutifully beamed around the world, allowing disingenuous Israeli spokespersons to say: "Look what they are doing to our places of worship? How can we make peace with such people?"

  Unconcerned by such contrived accusations, Gazans celebrated the departure of the despised occupier, but their joy was short-lived. Hardly had excited youngsters relished their very first close-up encounter with the ocean, while seniors enjoyed poignant reunions with long-lost relatives across the border in Egypt that Israel once again made its bloody presence felt.

  Just days after the withdrawal, Israel rained down missiles on Gaza, rounded up 200 alleged Palestinian militants and assassinated Mohammed Khalil, the head of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

  At the time of writing, Israel has frozen all contacts with the Palestinian Authority and imposed severe restrictions on West Bank Palestinians despite the fact Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has been more than cooperative.

Re-drawn borders

  In the meantime, Israel's borders are quietly being unilaterally re-drawn. While the world focused on the new realities in Gaza, Jerusalem was being cut off from the West Bank by a 'security barrier' along with ancillary cages, turnstiles and bomb-proof rooms, resembling a national frontier through which Palestinians will be obliged to run the gamut of security checks.

  And, as the Guardian reports, the barrier also "carves out large areas for expansion of the main Jewish settlements of Ariel, Maale Adumim and Gush Etzion and expropriates swathes of Palestinian land by separating it from its owners."

  According to the Guardian, "new building on Jewish settlements during the first quarter of this year rose by 83 per cent on the same period in 2004," and "the total number of settlers has risen again this year with an estimated 14,000 moving to the West Bank, compared with 8,500 forced to leave Gaza."

  It's clear that while Israel has given with the one hand (Gaza) it has taken with the other (Jerusalem and the West Bank). This is not mere conjecture.

  "Israel's strategy is to strengthen the control over areas which will constitute an inseparable part of the state of Israel," said Sharon following the Gaza exit. This has confirmed fears that Israel's 420-mile 'security fence' – deemed illegal under international law – marks a de facto delineation of Israel's final borders, and could become a permanent fixture.

  Indeed, last year, Bush wrote to Sharon to assure him that Israel would not be expected to withdraw to 1967 borders "in light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers".

  Given the unpalatable facts and bearing in mind George W. Bush's personal commitment to a Palestinian state (don't laugh!), world leaders, and in particular Muslim leaders, must be outraged. Correct?

  Wrong!  Just the opposite is the case. Sharon, despite the undisputable facts on the ground, has morphed into the good guy in the eyes of the United Nations and although it begs belief, this leader of a former pariah nation is being embraced by a succession of heads of state.

'Mr. Popularity'

  Sharon was so buoyed by his newfound 'Mr. Popularity' status that he was moved to address the UN General Assembly for the first time and actually received a smattering of applause of his efforts. And remember that this was the forum where Israel's policies are usually denounced and where Arab delegates normally walk out each time a representative of Israel speaks.

  Encouraged by the cordial welcome, Israel has now applied for a two-year seat on the UN Security Council, which just a few years ago would have been unthinkable.

  "These are steps that could not have happened even two years ago," said Israel's ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman. "It would have been unthinkable, suicidal, for us even to try them."

  Skeptics say that Kofi Annan has been smoothing the path for Israel within his organization after coming under heavy U.S. pressure over the Iraqi 'Oil-for-Food Program'. Some believe Israel's new UN acceptance represents some kind of quid pro quo on the part of Annan, who at one time was at risk of losing his job.

'Welcome Israel' mat

  But few can understand why Pakistan is currently rolling out a 'Welcome Israel' mat, although the writer M. Shahid Alam has attempted to explain this apparent Pakistani volte-face.

  In an article titled "Recognizing Israel: Or Selling out?", Alam writes: "It appears that General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military dictator since October 1999, is on a mission to legitimize Israel and he is going about it with the zeal of a new convert.

  "On September 1, 2005, Pakistan's foreign minister met with his Israeli counterpart in Istanbul…followed by a meeting between General Musharraf and members of the American Jewish Congress in New York. Earlier, the General praised war-criminal Sharon as 'a great soldier and courageous leader' for pulling out illegal and often murderous Jewish settlers from Gaza."

  Alam believes that Musharraf has redefined his nation's interests to coincide with those of the United States under an "I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine"-type pact.

  Says Alam: "The General is being asked to give proof positive of his partnership in the 'war against global terrorism' by reversing Pakistan's strategic opposition to the unnatural creation of Israel. Pakistan's founding father had described Israel as the 'illegitimate child of Western imperialism'. Under Israel-US pressure, the General is determined to turn Pakistan into an instrument for promoting Israeli ambitions in the Islamic world."

  Pakistan isn't the only one doing the sweet talking. Israel has reciprocated by allowing its officials to be interviewed by Pakistani dailies. For instance, the Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told the Dawn that Israel has never considered Pakistan an enemy and has always believed Islamabad's public assurances that its "country's nuclear program is not directed against Israel".

  Shalom further told the Dawn that although Pakistan was a Muslim country with nuclear weapons, it should not be compared to Iran "because it is not despotic and is not run by clerics who have vowed to destroy Israel."

  When Shalom was asked which will be the next Muslim country to recognize Israel, he responded thus:

  "I met the foreign minister of Qatar on Thursday. Before the Intifadah, we had a Bureau of Interests in Qatar. At least 10 countries are engaged with us, some more than others…"

  In an unprecedented move, Qatar's Olympic Committee has recently donated US$10 million to build a soccer stadium in the northern Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin, although rather than a boost to Israel is being generally viewed as bolstering Israeli Arabs.

  In fact, the next Muslim country in queue to 'cuddle up to Sharon' looks as though it will be either Kuwait or Afghanistan.

Kuwaiti debate

  Kuwaiti newspapers have been leading the debate over accepting Israel into the regional fold; a controversial subject in a country which for many years proudly held the standard for the Palestinian cause.

  "After a long time, we have finally decided to leave the Palestinian cause to Palestinians, because it is they who are really concerned with this issue," wrote Ahmed Al-Jarallah, Editor-in-Chief of the Arab Times on September 22.  On the following day, another Kuwaiti paper Al-Seyassa published an article, which called for the anti-Israel trade embargo to be lifted.

  On October 15, Pakistan's Daily Times Monitor reveals that an Afghan diplomat has promised that the "Karzai administration will recognize the State of Israel and that an official announcement to this effect will be made from the government of Afghanistan" shortly. Earlier Hamid Karzai had said he would only recognize Israel once a Palestinian state had been formed.

  Recently, Bahrain's former Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak announced his country had officially ended its boycott of Israeli goods as part of a trade deal with the U.S. In the event, the decision was rejected by Bahrain's Parliament but could still be implemented by the King if he were so disposed. Bahrain's current Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled-bin-Ahmed Al-Khalifa said even if the boycott was lifted, this would not imply recognition of Israel by Bahrain.

Secret talks

  An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Leor Ben-Dor told UPI that Israel places great importance on establishing ties with "as many Muslim countries as possible," and says his country is currently holding secret talks with Malaysia and Bangladesh.

  Quashing rumors to the contrary, Indonesia has ruled out diplomatic links with Israel. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono clarified his country's position, saying, "Any communication between Indonesian and Israel officials will be oriented to the objective of assisting the Palestinian people in gaining their independence".

  This month, Silvan Shalom, who was born in Tunisia, was scheduled to attend a United Nations summit on information technology in the Tunisian capital at the invitation of the government, where he hopes to revive a long-dormant trade relationship.

  So what is going on here? Why are Muslim countries falling over themselves in the rush to befriend Israel even as their Palestinian brothers and sisters are being bombed and brutalized with no Palestinian state in sight?

  The answer lies in pressure which the US is putting on Muslim countries backed up with an assortment of sticks and carrots.

  But one thing is certain. There is a huge disconnect between Muslim leaders and their own streets. Few of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims can stomach friendly relations with Israel as long as it continues to grab Palestinian land and covets Jerusalem - home to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, the third holiest Islamic site - as its capital.

  On the other hand, Israel maintains normalization with Muslim countries will encourage it to work towards a Palestinian state and would be mutually beneficial in terms of trade and the exchange of technology.

  Summing up the skepticism of ordinary Arabs towards Israeli intentions is an Egyptian movie starring veteran actor Adel Imam titled "Al-Safara bil Al-Amara" (The embassy inside the building).

  Adel Imam's character is a happy-go lucky engineer working in Dubai. After seducing the boss's wife, he is fired and returns to his family apartment in Cairo only to discover that the Israeli embassy has relocated next door along with an army of security personnel.

  Following an unsuccessful attempt to sell the apartment and a collapsed court case against the embassy Imam soon discovers the chips are stacked against him, and slowly but surely, the Israelis - first using charm and then blackmail - take over his entire home.

  The film ends with the funeral of a martyred Palestinian child, whom Imam's character had befriended in Dubai, which clearly linked the importance of the Palestinian cause for everyone within the region.

  Although Egypt is one of two Arab countries which has normalized relations with Israel (the other is Jordan), judging by the cheers and the claps of Egyptians in the Cairo cinema where I viewed the film, the audience's true sympathies was easy to define.

  Unless the Palestinians receive their rights and a state with Jerusalem as its capital any peace between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors will be nothing more than bits of paper, far removed from people's hearts and minds. Muslim leaders should ask themselves: Is this good enough? Or would it be better if we waited until Israel deserves our olive branches with actions rather than words?