[IslamCity] Israeli Gaza Pullout - Interview With Sharon & Mahmoud Abbas

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 17:23:12 -0700

'A Very Fateful Step'

The Israeli and Palestinian leaders, both facing tough opposition, differ on what is needed to advance peace talks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9285504/site/newsweek/

By Lally Weymouth

Newsweek

Sept. 19, 2005 issue - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who once encouraged Israelis to settle in Gaza and the West Bank, recently did an about-face. At the age of 77, he ordered the military to uproot all Israeli settlements in Gaza and to evacuate four more in the West Bank. Now Sharon sits in his office in Jerusalem accosted by critics who claim he has put his country in danger. Members of his own party are trying to oust him from office. In Gaza, meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas struggles to show the world that he can stop terrorism, disarm rival militias, combat corruption and enhance the lives of his people. Both leaders spoke last week to NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth. Excerpts:

 

ARIEL SHARON
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER

WEYMOUTH: Why did you decide that disengagement is the right thing to do?

 

SHARON: I never thought there would be any possibility that a small Jewish minority in Gaza—seven or eight thousand Israelis, [living] among 1.2 million Palestinians, whose number doubles every generation—might become a majority or [establish] a place that could be an integral part of the state of Israel.

 

What is next in the peace process?

No one can impose upon Israel any plan, only what has been agreed upon, such as the Roadmap [the plan put forth by the Bush administration in 2002].

 

So that's where you would go next, to phase one of the Roadmap?

We are in the pre-Roadmap phase now. In order to enter to the Road-map, there should be a full cessation of terror, hostilities and incitement. The Palestinian Authority should dismantle the terrorist organizations.

 

You mean Hamas and company?

Yes. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, but there are other terrorist organizations there. When we leave [Gaza], our reaction if terror continues will be very, very hard.

 

Benjamin Netanyahu is challenging you inside your own party, the Likud. Will you stay and fight or form another party?

I think the former minister of Finance wants very much to be prime minister, so he decided to make every effort to have early elections and early primaries. I don't think that's the right way. Netanyahu became the leader of the most extreme-right group here, and that of course will affect the possibility to continue negotiations.

 

People in Likud are angry at you—they feel betrayed.

There are some internal problems, incitement and hatred... But I believe I will overcome that.

 

What about reports that you'll split the party or form a new party?


I prefer to stay with Likud. I'm not going to surrender. And I don't see why I should be ousted.

 

The U.S. wants you to dismantle illegal outposts [on the West Bank]. Are you going to do that?


We'll do that. We call them unauthorized outposts.

 

Will some [more] settlements go?


The major blocs will stay as part of Israel. As to others, according to the roadmap, that is the last thing we have to negotiate.

 

So you'll strengthen the settlement blocs?


Yes.

 

How will the U.S. react?


I don't think they'll be too happy, but [these] are the major [settlement] blocs, and we must build... Even now there is construction.

 

How do you see [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as] Abu Mazen?

Abu Mazen understands the danger of terror. The question is: will he be willing to take serious steps to dismantle terrorist organizations?

 

Reportedly, Hamas will win between 30 and 40 percent of the Palestinian Legislature in the January elections.


Abu Mazen may have become stronger now.

 

But does that mean Abu Mazen has the power to strike against Hamas?

No, he signed an agreement with them. It is a major problem.

 

Why did he sign the agreement?

By this agreement he got the ceasefire.

 

Are there a lot of threats against your life because of the disengagement?

Yes, I would say. Once it was only from Arabs. Now it comes from both directions.

 

Will there be a big peace dividend from Gaza, from the withdrawal?

We didn't do it for that reason, but I think the position of Israel in the world is much better right now... I would like to make a major effort to solve the problems between us and the Arabs.

 

And give up some of the West Bank in exchange for their concessions?

We're not going to have another [unilateral] disengagement.

 

But if they take actions and fulfill their part?

We are not going to make any steps alone. We have taken a very fateful step—extreme in its nature. Now we expect they will take all the necessary steps and we can move forward.

 

So you think you can actually make some progress with Abu Mazen if he'll do his part?

If he will do his part, I think we can do many things, but he must do his part.

MAHMOUD ABBAS
PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT

WEYMOUTH: What do you plan to do now that the Israelis have withdrawn their settlers from Gaza?


ABBAS: We have three stages. The first was the evacuation of the settlers, and it went smoothly. Now we have the second stage: the Israeli Army is willing to leave ... The third is to run and maintain [the public facilities left by the Israelis] and invest the money for the benefit of the Palestinian people. We still haven't solved some problems like the Rafah crossing [be-tween Egypt and Gaza], the safe passages [entries in and out of the Gaza Strip] and the airport.

When the Israeli Army departs, will the Palestinian Authority take control and prevent Hamas from entering what previously were settlements?

We are ready to control the whole security situation. We will not allow anybody to rush into the settlements. We want [the Israelis] to remove all the synagogues. They do everything unilaterally; they don't talk to us.

 

You've talked about cooperating with Hamas and letting it become a political party. Why don't you tackle it?

We prefer the safe way—to cooperate with them in order that they will be diverted into a political party. In the beginning, they accepted the truce. After that, they participated in local elections. Now they're aiming to participate in the legislative elections.

 

But they have an army of 5,000 here in Gaza.

They have an army. When we say there should be one law, one authority, we mean it.

 

If there should be one law, how can Hamas have its own militia?

Now we are preparing ourselves. When we will be strong enough, we will say one law for everybody. We are not going to confront Hamas because... we are not ready for a civil war.

 

Aren't they a danger to you [and] the Palestinian Authority?

Nobody can deny that.

 

What should the next step be in the peace process?

To return to the Roadmap. There was an agreement that the Israelis would evacuate [some West Bank] cities... This was not implemented. We talked about prisoners, and they didn't release any. Of course, we want them to freeze [West Bank] settlement activities and [stop building] the wall.

 

What do you plan to do for your people?

We have to improve their lives. Otherwise, the disengagement means nothing. The day after the disengagement, there should be at least a hundred projects on the ground to let the people see that something is changing.

 

Do you have such plans?

Saudi Arabia has two huge projects in Gaza, and the Emirates has one. The Americans gave us $50 million for projects here and $30 million for water. The Germans gave us $60 million for sewage. If things improve here, the whole atmosphere will improve. People will not accept the shooting or shelling or attacks.

 

Reportedly, you warned Chairman Arafat once that violence was a mistake.

Many times. This was my conviction from the very beginning. The day after the beginning of the intifada, I told Chairman Arafat, "Please, stop, enough is enough. We are going to hell."

 

It's widely believed that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are going to move their campaigns of terror to the West Bank.

If they try to move to the West Bank, they won't succeed. Of course they will try.

 

What do you think of Prime Minister Sharon carrying out the disengagement?

After the disengagement, I called Prime Minister Sharon, congratulating him for his courageous action. I told him I want to meet either in New York or in Jerusalem. He said, "OK."

 

What do you think of President Bush?

From our point of view, he's helpful, and I consider my visit to the U.S. a big success.

 

Do you think he's been too friendly to Israel?

He's trying to be fair, but we know what the relationship is between the United States and Israel, how close it is.

 

You don't like that, obviously.

It's up to the Americans. We know their relationship, but we want them to be fair if they want solutions here. If they are biased toward Israel, it can't work.

 

What do you think about suicide bombing?

I'm against it, totally. We condemned it.

 

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

AB

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 

"For to us will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account." (Holy Quran 88:25-26)

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