-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,585460,00.html
}}}>Begin
Another day, another plea, another rebuff
Blair makes his case but Sharon is unbending
Patrick Wintour in Gaza
Friday November 2, 2001
The Guardian
Tony Blair last night ended his much-vaunted mission to the Middle
East with the warning that the world faced disaster unless it stood
back from a confrontation between Islam and the west.
But after dispiriting face-to-face talks with both the Israeli and
Palestinian leadership, there was little sign of any breakthrough.
In his second day of bruising meetings with Middle Eastern leaders,
Mr Blair experienced at first-hand the rigid stance of Israel's
hardline prime minister, Ariel Sharon.
The prime minister's impassioned call for an end to the cycle of
violence was met with the response that Israel would never compromise
its security; nor would it hold talks with the Palestinians until
they had stopped all acts of terrorism.
In belligerent mood, Mr Sharon said he had already set up a political
team to conduct talks, but security was paramount.
He went on to defend Israel's controversial policy of assassinating
suspected terrorists. Speaking on the day that two Palestinian
militants were killed by Israeli helicopters on the West Bank, he
said: "What will bring peace earlier: that they kill another 30, 40,
50 Israeli citizens, or that they be stopped on their way there?"
To add to Mr Blair's discomfort, Mr Sharon alluded to the prime
minister's unexpected decision to visit Syria. The Israeli leader
accused Damascus of playing host to 11 of the most dangerous and
radical terrorist opponents of Israel, including Islamic Jihad Haman.
Then he turned his fire on Yasser Arafat, saying the reason Israel
was forced to re-occupy towns on the West Bank was due to the
Palestinian leader's failure to act against the terrorists: "We said
'it's in your hands'. If he had done it and arrested them it would
not have happened."
Downing Street insisted that behind closed doors, the talks with Mr
Sharon, and later with the Palestinian chairman, Yasser Arafat, in
Gaza went better that the public utterances suggested and said it was
hopeful that a process leading to new talks .However, there was
little detail to suggest any impasse had been broken.
Mr Blair's three-day dash to four countries as well as the occupied
territories has left him open to criticism that his attempt at
statesmanship has backfired. On Wednesday he was subjected to the
humiliation of a public lecture from the Syrian leader, Bashar al-
Assad, on the differences between terrorism and legitimate rebellion.
The only hope that the prime minister may salvage from a harsh lesson
in the politics of the Middle East was the hint that he was bringing
home with him proposals designed to kick-start peace talks.
It was announced last night that Mr Blair will travel to Washington
next Wednesday to brief President George Bush on the outcome of his
talks. This will be followed by a planned visit to Washington and
London by Mr Sharon
.
In a now-familiar appeal, Mr Blair begged both Mr Sharon and Mr Arafat to recognise
that the bloodshed would only end when they realised they would have to live alongside
one another. "Israel is not going to disappear and
the Palestinians are not going to go away," he said.
Mr Blair is hoping that the more moderate Israeli foreign minister, Simon Peres, is
willing to take a more conciliatory stance on talks. If Mr Blair has drawn a blank, it
will not be for lack of effort.
After two hours of talks with the Israeli leader, he moved on to Mr Arafat's
headquarters in Gaza. On the streets of Gaza City most Palestinians were unaware of
his visit and many had no idea who Mr Blair was.
Those who did know were convinced he came to Gaza as a stooge of the US, carrying
false promises to lure the Palestinians into supporting the bombing of Afghanistan
But Mr Blair's most passionate statement was there, when he stood next to Mr Arafat
and said: "There is a gulf of misunderstanding between the Arab and Muslim world and
the western world. In areas like this, we have got t
o reach out across that gulf. The Bin Ladens of this world want to widen that gulf.
They want to put Islam against Christian, Arab against America, Muslims against the
west. I tell you that way lies disaster.
"We've got to take charge of this situation and drive the extremists out of the
equation."
He repeatedly insisted that both sides had to accept two fixed principles: an Israeli
state secure in its borders and a Palestinian state with justice.
"Because when you have finished with the bloodshed you're going to be left with the
same situation," he said, "Israel will exist and a Palestinian state will have to come
about."
Mr Arafat insisted he was doing all in his power to bring Palestinian
terrorists to justice, but then made the bizarre claim that some of
the perpetrators of the attack on Israeli cabinet ministers were in
fact linked to Israeli intelligence.
Yesterday President Bush announced an intensive new phase of
diplomacy of his own.
Working to rally international support for the war on terrorism, Mr
Bush will be making a series of speeches to US and foreign audiences.
He also released details last night of planned meetings with the
French president, Jacques Chirac and the leaders of India, Brazil,
Ireland and Algeria.
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
End<{{{
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