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White House Ari Fleischer said that President Bush views the PA as a regime that practices terrorism. (AP)
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| By Ellis Shuman February 14, 2002 |
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For the first time, the United States yesterday included the Palestinian Authority in its short list of regimes that "practice terrorism." Speaking at a press conference following President George W. Bush's meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer said that the PA, along with North Korea, Iran and Iraq, was a regime of particular concern to the president in his global campaign against terrorism.
"The president has always been very clear, in all the statements he's made, whether it was about North Korea or Iran or Iraq, or anywhere, Palestinian Authority, that it's the people that the United States is concerned with, that they are victims of regimes that invite terrorism and then practice terrorism," Fleischer said.
The Bush administration has decided to tighten its inspection over funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority, Maariv reported. Administration officials suspect that some of these funds are financing terror actions against Israel, the paper said. Several months ago, the Administration cracked down on U.S.-based foundations believed to be channeling funds to support terrorist activities against Israel.
Despite the unprecedented American statements connecting the Palestinian Authority to terrorism, the Bush administration has signaled that it does not intend to sever its connections with Arafat's regime.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told a congressional subcommittee on Wednesday that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat accepted some responsibility for the Karine A weapons shipment. Powell said that Arafat still insisted he was not personally involved in, or responsible for the shipment.
On Tuesday, Powell described a letter written to him by Arafat regarding the Karine A as "somewhat positive." In a statement Powell said the Bush administration was "in contact with Chairman Arafat and his closest associates, to try to get more movement with respect to the arrests of terrorists, with respect to an accounting for the Karine A."
"It wasn't the standard denials," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said of the letter. "It indicated that he intended to take some actions, and was taking some actions, with regard to ending any possible arms smuggling or for that matter any relationship between Iran and the Palestinian Authority."
The United States does not intend to work towards replacing Arafat as Palestinian leader, nor does it plan to close down PLO offices in Washington, Yediot Aharonot reported. According to a classified report prepared by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, the Bush Administration was extremely pleased with the results of its talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the White House last week, in which all of Israel's demands to sever ties with Arafat were rejected, the paper said.
According to the report, Bush made clear to Sharon that the United States would continue to apply pressure on Arafat, but would not deal with suggestions of an alternative Palestinian leadership. The American message to Arafat remains a demand for serious actions fighting terror, not words, Yediot Aharonot reported.
UK Foreign Secretary demands Arafat actions against terror
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Wednesday that the "first step [towards resuming negotiations between Israel and the PA]? is to make the life of the people of Israel much more secure. That means clamping down on the terrorism that comes from the occupied territories."
After meeting in Jerusalem with Peres and with Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in Tel Aviv, Straw met with Arafat in Ramallah and pressured the Palestinian leader to crack down on militants. Straw said the goal must be to resume peace talks, and "in order to achieve that, there has to be an end to the violence." The ultimate outcome, he said, should be independent states of Israel and Palestine, each living in peace within secure borders.
Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem were pleased with Straw's comments insisting on a complete cessation of terrorism as a prerequisite to a resumption of talks. Straw's remarks improved the impressions left from his previous visit to Israel in September, which came in the wake of a column he wrote, published in Iran, that ascribed some blame to Israel for recent outbreaks of terrorism, including the attacks in the United States.
In his talks with Israeli officials, Straw registered his criticism of a new European Union peace initiative calling for Palestinian elections to be followed by the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state. Instead, Straw was reported to have fallen in line with the U.S. and Israel approach that a cease-fire is the immediate objective and is necessary before peace proposals can be considered.
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