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November 9, 2001/Cheshvan 23, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 9
U.S.-Palestinian policy may be shifting
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
For the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, the Bush administration is publicly criticizing the Palestinians and taking tangible steps toward fighting terrorism aimed at Israelis.
Some see the shift as the first sign of a more balanced perspective as the administration intensifies its war on terrorism even as it tries to keep Arab nations on board.
A key test of the administration's positions will take place next week when world leaders gather for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Speculation is rife about a possible meeting between President Bush and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, even as Arafat has reportedly threatened to declare unilateral statehood.
The administration says no Bush-Arafat meeting is currently being planned.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the administration had remained largely mute about Palestinian violence as it worked to assemble and maintain an international coalition against terrorism that included Arab nations.
At the same time, the U.S. government publicly condemned Israel for its policy of targeted assassination of terrorists and its incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas.
The contrast angered many American Jews and Israelis, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who at one point accused the administration of appeasing the Arabs at the expense of Israel.
But that changed over the past week, with a series of public comments aimed at the Palestinian Authority and Arafat.
David Satterfield, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, told the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine that the last year of Palestinian violence has "become an ongoing process of calculated terror and escalation," which has led to Israeli actions that "proved inflammatory and provocative."
On Nov. 5, Daniel Kurtzer, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, told the Foreign Press Association in Tel Aviv that "words are not enough" for Arafat to prove that he is against terrorism.
Last week, Attorney General John Ashcroft named several groups believed linked to Arafat's Fatah faction as possible terrorist organizations worthy of monitoring.
And the State Department Nov. 2 took steps to freeze the assets of Hamas, Hezbollah and other groups already on the department's Foreign Terrorist Organization list.
The new focus on the Palestinian Authority has satisfied the American Jewish community, whose leaders had become increasingly frustrated with U.S. pronouncements on Israel.
Jewish leaders met last week with Ashcroft and more than 20 Republican senators. They said they felt an unprecedented alliance between the lawmakers and the Jewish community, and believe their message helped shape the change in commentary by the Bush administration.
"I don't think what we brought so much was pressure as much as information," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "Plus, it was a question of timing."
For its part, the administration says it hasn't shifted course.
As for a meeting with Arafat, State Department officials said this week that no meeting is being planned and privately, sources said such a meeting is unlikely.
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