GENEVA (AFP) — Former Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan warned Saturday that a Mideast peace conference later this year could turn into a disaster if Israel and the United States approached it as a public relations exercise.
Dahlan, a leading MP in Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, told a conference on global security here that repeated post-Oslo peace efforts were foiled largely by the lack of a framework or clear objectives for talks.
"If the autumn meeting is simply to organise another gathering and... just to have a photo opportunity this will be another disaster," Dahlan said at a conference on international security issues here.
"I find that the prevailing atmosphere is not conducive to a breakthrough at this conference," Dahlan said at a conference on international security issues here.
"I sincerely hope I'm mistaken because the opportunity is a historic one," he added, underlining that Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and US President George W. Bush needed a success to bolster their own troubled domestic political surroundings.
Bush has called for a Middle East peace conference later this year in order to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian talks, a summit that regional players widely expect to be held in November.
"I think that up to this very moment this sufficient effort has not been made to make a success of that meeting " Dahlan added, speaking through an interpreter.
"My understanding is that the US and Israeli authorities simply think it shall be a gathering and a talk, public relations... What about the framework which deals with important issues?" Dahlan said.
The former Palestinian national security advisor under Abbas nonetheless told the gathering organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies that there were hopes for peace if goals were set.
Abbas and Olmert are to meet next week for talks ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference, both sides said on Saturday.
The Palestinian leader has warned that the summit could fail without adequate preparation.
However, Olmert has said that it is uncertain whether the two sides will be able to formalise any understandings on the key issues before the summit.
Dahlan quit as national security advisor in July, about a month after Hamas smashed Palestinian security forces and captured the Gaza Strip. The 45 year-old was seen as one of the closest US allies in the Palestinian Authority.
Dahlan said the split between the Hamas-led Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank could represent "an opportunity."
"I believe that what happened in Gaza should not be used as an excuse to evade the peace process," he said, underlining Abbas's legal mandate to negotiate for the Palestinians.
