|
|
May 10, 2002/Iyar 28, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 34
Sharon: Don't trust Arafat, Saudis
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to the United States this week with a mission - to paint a different picture for the Bush administration and the American public about Israel's once and, perhaps, future peace partners.
In fact, Sharon didn't have to do much: A Palestinian bomber blew up a pool hall in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon le-Zion, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 60, just as Sharon and Bush were preparing to meet.
The bombing was the first major terror attack against Israel in nearly a month, and the first since the Israel Defense Force withdrew from Palestinian cities it invaded in late March after a prior wave of terror.
It also was the first attack since Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was released from virtual house arrest in Ramallah and immediately began inciting against Israel.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing. Arafat strongly condemned the bombing, but said Palestinian security forces are too weak to crack down on terrorism.
After the bombing, Sharon cut short his U.S. visit and returned to Israel - but not before warning that "all those who believe that they can make gains through the use of terror will cease to exist."
Mindful of pressure from the Arab world, the Bush administration has been pressuring Israel to resume its dealings with Arafat.
Sharon was seeking to convince the Americans that Arafat has reneged on past agreements, has chosen violence over peace and cannot be trusted - and thus can't be a player in future political negotiations.
With a tentative diplomatic opening emerging in recent weeks after 19 months of violence, Sharon's strategy is important because it could influence the contours of any future peace talks.
Even after his meeting with President Bush, however, it's too early to tell whether Sharon succeeded.
However, both leaders agreed on the need for major reforms in Palestinian government.
Sharon said it was premature to discuss a Palestinian state until the Palestinian Authority undertook real reforms.
Another goal of the Israeli delegation that visited Washington was to paint Saudi Arabia as an accomplice to terrorism - based on evidence of its funding to groups like Hamas and payments to the families of suicide bombers - rather than the leader in a push for peace.
Yet Bush seems to have a new interest in using a Saudi peace initiative as the backbone of future negotiations. The initiative calls on Arab states to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from all land won in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Even while Congress was passing bills last week in solidarity with Israel, the Bush administration was emphasizing a more international approach.
Russia, the European Union and the United Nations joined U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in announcing an international peace conference for early this summer.
Sharon has produced his own peace plan calling for buffer zones between Israeli and Palestinian land, an end to Palestinian violence, an interim stage of incremental steps before final borders are discussed and an improved atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinians before a final peace deal is implemented.
Israeli leaders are encouraging the rebuilding of the Palestinian infrastructure, fueled in part by the United States, with the hope that a revived Palestinian economy may lead to changes in political leadership.
Israeli officials also tried to minimize the amount of outside influence in the proposed international conference on the Middle East, hoping to remove the United Nations - which it considers implacably anti-Israel - from the equation.
|
