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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President George W. Bush speak to reporters after their meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday. (AP)
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| By Ellis Shuman February 10, 2002 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer return to Israel today after their high-level talks with the Bush administration failed to convince the Americans to cut ties with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. The Americans made it clear they would continue to engage with the PA and with Arafat himself and, at least according to Ben-Eliezer's revelation of a private conversation with U.S. officials, warned that Israel's isolation of Arafat in Ramallah could backfire.
Israeli media reports said that in the Washington talks, the Americans rejected suggestions by both Israeli leaders to begin dialogue with an alternative Palestinian leadership. Yediot Aharonot reported that the main message of the talks was instead an American request that Israel "not make waves" while the U.S. prepared the next step in its global war against terror - an expected strike against Iraq.
"I assured the prime minister that we will continue to keep
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"We believe that pressure should be put on Arafat"
- PM Ariel Sharon
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pressure on Mr. Arafat to convince him that he must take serious, concrete, real steps to reduce terrorist activity in the Middle East," Bush said after a 45-minute Oval Office session with Sharon on Thursday. "I can't be any more clear in my position, and that is that he must do everything in his power to fight terror."
Sharon said, "Arafat has chosen a strategy of terror and formed a coalition of terror. Therefore, we believe that pressure should be put on Arafat... I hope to have an alternative leadership in the future." Sharon said that he, and his government, view Arafat as an "obstacle to peace."
Sharon told reporters after the meeting that he had not called on Bush to cut his ties with Arafat, and unlike Ben-Eliezer, he had not heard warnings from the Americans that isolating Arafat could strengthen him, the Jerusalem Post reported.
In their talks, Bush stressed that he was "deeply concerned about the plight of the average Palestinians" and said the United States planned to allocate $300 million in aid for the Palestinians, to be distributed via nongovernmental organizations.
Sharon acknowledged that he and Bush discussed "steps that should be taken in order to improve the life conditions of those Palestinians that are not involved in terror?That was always my intention," he said.
"At the end of the process, I believe that? we would see a Palestinian state," Sharon said, in his most outspoken statement on the subject. He then emphasized, "But that's only at the end and the final steps should be taken to start negotiations. It cannot be done under terror."
Sharon said that what was needed was a "Marshall Plan" for the Palestinian economy to create 100,000 jobs in Gaza over the next three years. Speaking to an audience of Jewish leaders on Friday, Sharon said that funding for this sort of project would come from Israel, the United States and the world community, and would be funneled directly to the Palestinian people, bypassing the Palestinian Authority.
Sharon asked Bush for the $800 million in special aid pledged by former president Bill Clinton as compensation for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Israel Radio reported. Sharon canceled several television interviews over the weekend due to the heavy cold he was suffering.
Ben-Eliezer apologizes for leaking comments by Cheney, Rice
Ben-Eliezer called the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to apologize for the embarrassment and misunderstanding caused by comments he made to Israeli reporters about his talks in Washington.
Ben-Eliezer told the reporters that "Cheney is more extreme than me" and that "Cheney and Rice think dealing with Arafat is a waste of time." However, Ben-Eliezer denied statements attributed to him by Yediot Aharonot, which posted a headline claiming he said, "Cheney is more extremist than Gandhi [assassinated former Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi]." The paper also reported that, according to a leak from Ben-Eliezer, Cheney allegedly said of Arafat that as far as he was concerned, "you can go ahead and hang him."
Ben-Eliezer told the reporters that Rice had warned him that the continued isolation of Arafat in Ramallah could backfire and increase his public support, bringing results opposite to what Israel is trying to achieve.
Ben-Eliezer said that his comments to the press were taken out of context, leading to the misunderstanding with the Bush administration. "I also want to make clear that no White House official told me that it's a waste of time dealing with Arafat," Ben-Eliezer said in a statement.
Maariv reported that Rice was so furious with Ben-Eliezer before he made his apology, that she told associates that if he didn't apologize, he would become persona non grata in Washington.
Israeli Channel One television reported that Ben-Eliezer was only able to relay his apologies to aides of Cheney and Rice, and that the Vice President refused to speak with him directly.
"Fuad (Ben-Eliezer) said what the Americans are thinking, but not what they are saying," Israeli diplomatic sources told Maariv. "They agree with Israel's position, but from their point of view, there is no alternative to Arafat."
According to media reports, the American officials accepted Ben-Eliezer's clarifications and apologies and now regard the manner as a "closed affair."
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