Israeli officials were careful to ensure an exceptional reception for French President Nicolas Sarkozy in celebration of the renewed friendship between the two countries after years of tension resulting from Tel Aviv's accusation that Paris was biased to the Arabs. Although Sarkozy came to Israel as a close friend, and despite his emphasis on this friendship before and during the visit, not to mention his strong commitment to Israeli security against any possible threat, Israeli officials were not pleased with what he said about the liabilities the Jewish state has in fulfillment of peace with the Palestinians - even if his motive behind such demands was nothing but ensuring Israel's security.

It was evident during the visit that the French and Israeli sides were not necessarily pursuing similar goals. Aside from the talk about Israeli democracy and the security of Israel as a state for Jews, calculations were rather different.

Sarkozy came to Israel with his eye on a "remarkable" French role in the Middle East peace process. He believed that he could use his good ties with the current US administration, which is gradually drifting away from acting for peace, and exploit his assumption of the presidency of the European Union next month to transform this presidency into an asset to support his peace initiative. He also had his eye on the preparations to push the Mediterranean Union summit forward since it is one of his most important initiatives on the foreign policy front.

To ensure this role and sustain the success of the summit, Sarkozy had to speak to the Arab side whose states represent the majority in the Mediterranean Union project and at the Paris summit scheduled on July 13. The French president is aware that Arab reservations to his project are associated with Israel's participation while peace remains unaccomplished. Hence he had to reassure the Arabs as a means to ensure their attendance. To this end, he supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, the freeze of settlements and the division of Jerusalem, and called for resolving the refugee issue.

While the Syrian and Lebanese tracks were not explicitly mentioned in detail, Sarkozy's discussions in Israel revealed his support for the need to pursue the negotiations with Syria over the Golan Heights and to facilitate a solution to the Shebaa Farms. The French president hopes that the third round of indirect Syrian-Israeli negotiations through Turkish mediation will achieve progress in such a way that will permit a senior Syrian-Israeli convention in Paris on the sidelines of the Mediterranean summit….Under such a scenario, the French president who is known for his obsession with history will have sponsored an historical breakthrough in the Middle East conflict. In any case, Sarkozy has determined that resolving the question of security for Israel - a question which he admires - can only be accomplished through peace with its neighbors and that this peace lies at the core of Israel's interests which explains why he sees that Israel must make concessions.

In return, Israeli statements agree, some in direct response to the French president, that the impending doom facing the Jewish state does not come from its direct neighbors. This reflects an implicit rejection of the demand to make concessions for peace with direct neighbors in Palestine, Syria, or Lebanon. Israeli officials, moreover, do not believe that such peace is possible without the American role which is currently in a state of imbalance as the current presidential term comes to an end. Hence, they perceive the current direct negotiations with the Palestinians and indirect negotiations with the Syrians as a phase for expending time until the next American administration takes over to avoid having to make any concessions to achieve peace with Israel's neighbors.

To escape this liability, the Israelis escape forward toward Iran by identifying Iran's project to develop a nuclear arsenal as the source of impending threat to their strategic security. In the phase of expending time, they preoccupy themselves with this threat. This relieves them of the pressures for peace with their closer neighbors as the bigger threat comes from the remote neighbor. By overstating this threat, they are bargaining to gain recognition for the need to increase the Israeli military capabilities in the negotiations for foreign aid that aim at guaranteeing the security of the Jewish state.

Hence, the Israelis took hold of Sarkozy's hardened stance toward Iran's nuclear program to gain more bilateral cooperation in the fields of military industries and related high technology on the one hand, and on the other hand to improve Israel's position in the negotiations aimed at reinforcing European-Israeli relations under the French presidency.

Accordingly, as far as the French position is concerned, the Israelis picked what they believed was beneficial and which they could build on and exploit. The question, however, is whether Arabs are capable of making use of the beneficial aspects in the French position and whether they can build on them in the battle for peace in the region.