Todd- those are excellent questions. I'm sure a lot of us are wondering the same things...
-Ben > Question 1: Is Arafat serious, or is he just "accepting" a plan that he > knows Sharon won't so Sharon ends up looking like a hardass and the blame > falls on Israel? > > Question 2: If he is, does he have the support of the people enough to at > least reduce the bombings and begin to approach some type of stability? > > Question 3: What do the other Arab states think of this? > > P.T. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Beth F" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2002 6:09 PM > Subject: optimism > > > > Arafat Said Ready to Accept Plan > > Fri Jun 21, 8:10 AM ET > > > > By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer > > > > JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites) is > prepared to accept a Mideast peace plan put forward by then-U.S. President > Bill Clinton in December 2000, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported > Friday. > > > > In an interview at his Ramallah headquarters, Arafat told Haaretz reporter > Akiva Eldar that he would take the Clinton plan without changes, Eldar told > The Associated Press on Friday. "I am prepared to accept it, absolutely," > Eldar quoted Arafat as saying, and he endorsed the points of the plan one by > one, Eldar said. > > > > Palestinian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on > Friday. > > > > Clinton presented the plan after a July summit meeting between Arafat and > then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak ( news - web sites) broke down > without an agreement. According to the plan, the Palestinians would set up a > state in 95 percent of the West Bank and all of Gaza and would gain > sovereignty over Arab quarters in Jerusalem and a hotly disputed holy site. > > > > The plan also called on the Palestinians to drastically scale back their > demand for all refugees and their descendants from the 1948-49 war that > followed Israel's creation, about 4 million people, to have the right to > return to their original homes. > > > > After Clinton presented his plan, the Palestinians said they accepted it > with "deep reservations," asking for clarifications about all the key > points. > > > > Talks continued until late January 2001 but ended without agreement just > before a special election, in which Barak was soundly defeated by hawkish > Ariel Sharon ( news - web sites). At that point, both Israel and the United > States said their proposals were off the table. > > > > Now Arafat is willing to sign on to the Clinton plan, Eldar wrote, calling > it the first time the Palestinian leader has endorsed it. Arafat said Israel > would receive sovereignty over the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of > Jerusalem and the Western Wall, the last remaining remnant of the compound > of the Jewish Temples, Judaism's holiest site. > > > > Also, Arafat said he would be prepared for modifications in the line > between Israel and the West Bank and exchanges of territory with Israel, > principles the Palestinians have balked at up to now. The official > Palestinian demand has been that Israel must pull back to the 1949 > cease-fire line, relinquishing all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip ( news - web > sites) and east Jerusalem and dismantling all Jewish settlements there. > > > > Arafat did not repeat the demand for the right of return of all the > refugees and their families to Israel, Eldar said. Instead, he said, a > solution must be found for the 200,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, > adding that he was calling on European and other world bodies to help. > Israel has refused to take in large numbers of refugees. Lebanon says there > are 350,000 refugees there. > > > > However, Sharon is prepared to offer much less than his predecessor. > Sharon insists that all violence must stop before peace talks resume, and > then he would propose a long-term interim agreement, during which the > Palestinians would maintain control over the areas they now have. The > Palestinians have rejected the idea of another interim accord. > > ______________________________________________________________________ Your ad could be here. Monies from ads go to support these lists and provide more resources for the community. http://www.fusionauthority.com/ads.cfm Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
