 |
 |
 |
|
|
UK FM Jack Straw meeting with Israeli opposition leader, Shimon Peres (AP).
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Associated Press November 25, 2004 |
|
| |
Israel will allow international observers for the Jan. 9 election to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority, Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday, another indication of easing of tensions since Arafat's death.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom made the commitment -- which can be seen as a concession -- before meeting visiting British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who also offered assistance to the Palestinians.
"If the international community will want to send observers, Israel will allow the entrance of observers," Shalom told Army Radio.
Since Arafat died on Nov. 11, Israel has scaled back military operations in Palestinian areas, and tensions have abated. Israel charged that Arafat promoted Palestinian terrorism and refused to deal with him.
Now the Israelis are walking a self-imposed fine line -- hoping that a moderate Palestinian leadership emerges to resume negotiations, but keeping its distance before the election.
On Wednesday, violent Islamic Hamas strongly rejected any move to restart peace negotiations.
Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings in Israel during the last four years of conflict, wants to replace Israel with an Islamic state and shuns any official contact.
Negotiations "will never insure the minimum rights or aspirations of the Palestinian people," Hamas said in a statement.
Israel usually opposes an official international presence in the Palestinian areas, rejecting a frequent Palestinian demand for observers or peacekeepers. Israel assumes that because most of the world opposes its policies, international teams would be hostile to Israel.
There have been exceptions. Israel agreed to a special observer force in the West Bank city of Hebron in 1994 after a Jewish settler massacred 29 Palestinians at a disputed holy site.
Also, observers watched the other Palestinian election, in 1996. The most prominent international watchdog then was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Shalom said the role of the observers would be "to ensure that these elections are fair and the results will be acceptable, not only to the international community, but first and foremost to the Palestinian people."
Straw is on a two-day visit to the region as part of a new round of diplomacy meant to restart peace efforts and movement on the internationally backed "road map" peace plan following Arafat's death.
At a joint news conference after their meeting, Straw said he was optimistic about the situation, agreeing with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that "there is an entirely new opportunity here and a real determination by the collective Palestinian leadership to work to the implementation of the road map."
Palestinians have also demanded Israel pull its troops out of Palestinian cities during the campaign and allow residents of east Jerusalem to vote in the poll.
After initial opposition, Israel said it would let residents of east Jerusalem vote by absentee ballot. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it, claiming the whole city. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as their capital.
Shalom would not promise to pull troops out of the West Bank for the voting. "The elections process will not be harmed if, on the outskirts of a certain town, soldiers are located. I think what is important is allowing freedom of movement," Shalom said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had to postpone his meeting with Straw because of a sore throat, a statement from Sharon's office said.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah late Wednesday, members of parliament from the ruling Fatah Party endorsed the candidacy of Mahmoud Abbas for the Jan. 9 election. The party's central committee formally chose Abbas this week. Another party body is set to confirm the nomination tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a new threat to Sharon's minority government emerged Wednesday when the moderate opposition Labor Party decided to stop abstaining in parliamentary votes -- raising the possibility that Sharon could be toppled.
Sharon lost his parliamentary majority because of opposition from his own backers to his plan to pull Israeli settlers out of Gaza and part of the West Bank next year. Labor, which backs the pullout, offered a "safety net" to protect Sharon from no-confidence votes.
Now Labor says it can't continue to prop up the government because of differences over economic policy.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
