Sharon Talks With Plo
The Age
Monday February 4, 2002
Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, after his first direct talks with high-level Palestinian officials, said that the most the Palestinian Authority could expect from Israel at this stage was a long-term interim peace agreement, based on an armistice.
Mr Sharon also said more international pressure was needed against PLO leader Yasser Arafat to achieve a ceasefire.
His comments underlined his determination to maintain a tough policy against the Palestinian Authority, even while opening the door to renewed dialogue. The statements were the first by Mr Sharon since it was disclosed that he had held his first face-to-face discussions with three senior Palestinian Authority officials at his Jerusalem residence last Wednesday.
During the talks, Mr Sharon refused to halt Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinians suspected of planning or being involved in attacks against Jews.
Strong objections to the policy were raised by members of the Palestinian delegation - Mr Arafat's deputy, Mohamoud Abbas, Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei'a and Mr Arafat's economic policy advisor, Mr Mohammed Rashid.
``The assassination of our people is the fuel of the great fire (the ongoing violence)," they said, in talks approved by Mr Arafat.
But Mr Sharon replied that his cabinet had declared Mr Arafat irrelevant because the Palestinian leader had consistently refused to act on information from Israel about Palestinians preparing to launch attacks.
``If I have to choose between two alternatives - one, the assassinations that make your life difficult, or going to Israelis' funerals - I have no difficulty deciding on that issue," Mr Sharon said.
Mr Abbas then questioned Mr Sharon about his demand that the violence come to a complete halt, pointing out that it might well be impossible to stop all attacks. ``And if we succeed in bringing about a ceasefire and some extremist on our side should commit an act against you, will you stop the negotiations?" Mr Abbas asked.
Mr Sharon replied that if the Palestinian Authority and Israel worked together then terrorism could be stopped.
The discussions also covered a working paper being devised between Mr Queri'a and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, which calls for a Palestinian state to be established in the Gaza Strip and 42per cent of the West Bank, after which talks would begin on the final boundaries.
But Mr Sharon said the paper was ``not acceptable" to him. He proposed a ``ceasefire that would lead to a long-term interim arrangement, that would lead to a non-belligerency accord. And all that without defining any stage in a binding timetable".
Mr Sharon said that as part of such a deal, Israeli troops would pull back from more parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Prime Minister, who has signalled a willingness to hold more talks after his return from Washington later this week, said that he was the only person with whom the Palestinian leadership could reach an agreement.
This was seen as meaning that the Palestinian officials should not consider that they could make any ``back-door" deals with Mr Peres, who has often tried to push an agenda different from that of Mr Sharon. Overshadowing the meeting was the position of Mr Arafat, who remains under virtual house arrest in his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah.
Mr Sharon told the senior Palestinian officials that Mr Arafat would not be allowed to travel until he arrested and handed over those responsible for the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi in Jerusalem last October.
• Israelis from a Jewish-Arab movement advocating peace with Palestinians met Mr Arafat on Saturday in a rare show of support for coexistence. Some 300 Israelis from ``Ta'ayush", Arabic for coexistence, defied Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint at the entrance of Ramallah to meet Mr Arafat. It was the first time since the Palestinian uprising began in September, 2000 that so many Israelis had visited a Palestinian city. -- with Reuters
© 2002 The Age