-Caveat Lector- http://www.timesofindia.com/today/11woru1.htm Saturday 11 November 2000 Israel rejects Arafat's call for UN team in Palestine UNITED NATIONS: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat personally appealed to the Security Council on Friday to deploy a UN force to protect Palestinian civilians, but Israel rejected any international involvement and won critical US support. Arafat appeared before the 15-member council for about 90 minutes in a stepped-up bid to involve the United Nations and other international players in trying to revive the Middle East peace process, traditionally the domain of the two sides and the Americans. The Palestinian leader was followed at the closed-door council meeting by Israeli Ambassador Yehuda Lancry, who made clear that Israel would not accept any UN force in the region since none was envisaged in previous peace accords. Lancry also rejected a compromise French proposal to deploy unarmed military observers. "What we need now is not an international presence, which really can run against the spirit of the peace process," Lancry told reporters afterwards. He called for a resumption of direct, bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians "to bring back the calm and the security and to resume the peace talks." US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said the United States would oppose any force as long as Israel rejects it, arguing that the United Nations cannot authorise missions without the consent of the governments concerned. He stressed that the Palestinians had never discussed the proposal with Israel. "It's not that we're opposed per se to something because it came from one side or the other," Holbrooke said. "We're simply not going to support something which is unilaterally proposed without ever having been discussed with the other side directly." Despite that veiled threat of a US veto, the Palestinians said they were drafting a resolution authorising a 2,000-strong, mobile UN protection force to be deployed in Palestinian territories and Jerusalem. The resolution was expected to be circulated early next week, after US President Bill Clinton meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Washington on Sunday. Clinton met with Arafat on Thursday. "We have exhausted all possibilities for a bilateral effort in order to de-escalate the situation," said the deputy Palestinian observer, Marwan Jilani, dismissing Holbrooke's calls to consult with the Israelis. (AP) Copyright � 2000 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
