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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and French President Jacques Chirac in better times.
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| By Ellis Shuman July 20, 2004 |
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The UN General Assembly is expected to today overwhelmingly adopt the International Court of Justice's recent ruling against Israel's security fence. On the diplomatic front, Israel's ties with "friendly" countries seem to be souring. French President Jacques Chirac said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is not welcome in France; New Zealand said it had proof that two jailed Israelis are Mossad agents; and ties with Turkey remain strained.
The General Assembly's vote on a Palestinian resolution was postponed to today as European representatives sought to broaden it to include mentions of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. The General Assembly vote would be non-binding, and Israel hopes to forestall any Security Council sanctions with the help of a veto by the United States.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's office said yesterday that he was seeking European Union support in fighting a Palestinian attempt to secure UN sanctions if Israel refuses to accept the world court ruling.
A Foreign Ministry statement said Shalom called EU foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana and said the EU's position on the forthcoming General Assembly vote would be an indicator of the Europeans' ability to take a balanced stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Sharon not welcome in France
A spokeswoman for Chirac said yesterday that a long-standing invitation to Sharon was now on hold until the prime minister explained his remarks calling on French Jews to immediately move to Israel due to the "wildest anti-Semitism" in France.
"Following Mr. Sharon's declarations, France has called for explanations," the spokeswoman said, Reuters reported. "(France) said today that a possible visit by the Israeli prime minister to Paris, for which no date has been set, will be examined only when the explanations called for have been provided."
In his speech to American Jewish leaders on Sunday night, Sharon stressed that the French government was making efforts to combat anti-Semitism in the country. Sharon's spokesmen said that the prime minister frequently calls on the world's Jews to migrate to Israel.
"I'm so very sorry if the French government have declared the Prime Minister of Israel as 'persona non grata,'" said Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin. "The prime minister did not blame France for what is happening to the Jewish people," he said.
"I think that they are over-reacting," Interior Minister Avraham Poraz told Reuters. "As you know, Israel is a Zionist state. And we always advocate Jews to migrate to Israel. So nothing new about that."
A senior French diplomat didn't accept the explanations for Sharon's remarks, Yediot Aharonot reported. "It is strange that there are always problems understanding the prime minister's statements. Do French Jews also have problems understanding him, because they themselves claim he is just throwing oil on the fire?" he said.
Officials in Sharon's office said that while there had been some talk of a possible Sharon visit to France, the issue had not been discussed for more than three months.
New Zealand paper: Evidence shows men worked for Mossad
The New Zealand Herald reported today that government officials have evidence to prove that two Israeli men jailed last week on charges of passport fraud are Mossad agents. According to the paper, New Zealand intelligence services bugged the phones of Elisha Cara, 50, and Uriel Kelman, 31. Prime Minister Helen Clark refused to comment on the reports and her spokesman said the prime minister would not discuss security issues.
After Cara and Kelman were sentenced to six months in jail, Clark said that there was no doubt they were working in the service of the Israeli government. Clark condemned Israel for breaching New Zealand's sovereignty and called on Israel to explain and apologize for its "utterly unacceptable" behavior.
"The Israel government was asked for an explanation and an apology three months ago. Neither has been received," Clark said.
Clark also announced a series of sanctions on Israeli government officials and said that all high-level talks between the two countries are suspended. Clark said that New Zealand was unwilling to receive President Moshe Katsav during a planned visit to the region in August, but Katsav said that no visit to New Zealand had been considered.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said he hoped that diplomatic ties with New Zealand could be restored. New Zealand officials stressed that if Israel offered the explanation and apology for the actions of the two men, diplomatic ties between the two countries would return to normal. Israeli officials, however, refuse to acknowledge any connection with Cara and Kelman or the government's involvement in their activities.
Ties with Turkey remain strained
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared that his visit to Turkey last week "restored normal relations, cooperation, business, and dialogue between Israel and Turkey, both politically and economically." Olmert's high-level visit was an attempt to restore ties following a wave of sharp criticism from Turkey including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements suggesting that the IDF actions in Rafiah were "state-sponsored terror."
But media analysts reported that Olmert's visit did little to restore the strategic ties with Turkey. Haaretz wrote that even the technology development agreement, which was thought would certainly be signed, could not be made since the Turkish side was not ready.
Also notable was the fact that Erdogan did not meet with Olmert during the visit, claiming that he had prior commitments connected to his daughter's wedding. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is due to pay a visit to Egypt soon, did not set a date for a visit to Israel. In addition, several agreements reached between the two governments are still frozen.
"We have no problem with the Israeli people, but unfortunately, what the Israeli government has been doing is leading to an increase in anti-Semitism in the world," Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party recently.
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