From: Steve Wagner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 08:20:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: Sharon snubs EU peace move HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Sharon snubs EU peace move Suzanne Goldenberg in Jerusalem Monday November 19, 2001 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,597317,00.html The European Union felt the full brunt of Israel's hostility to diplomatic pressure yesterday when the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, refused to countenance any shift in his hardline stance against resuming negotiations with the Palestinians. The acrimony surrounding talks with the visiting EU president and Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, was a portent of Israel's anticipated reaction to a speech today by the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, signalling Washington's intent to re-engage with the Middle East. Mr Powell said that he will not outline a detailed peace plan in today's speech in Kentucky. "I am not introducing a new plan... We have a plan, it's a solid plan. It's called the Mitchell committee report," he said. But diplomats believe he will suggest that Israel drop its insistence on seven days of absolute calm in the West Bank and Gaza before implementing a ceasefire, a position the international community regards as unrealistic. The EU arrived with a similar message: that Israel recognise a significant drop in violence in the past 12 days and begin implementing a cease fire so that the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, can show his people that there are real gains to be made in scaling down a 14-month revolt against the Israeli occupation. "The Europeans have expressed their willingness to do away with the Israeli demand for complete calm as a precondition for the resumption of political dialogue," said Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a key adviser to Mr Arafat. "The Israelis are now using the precondition for complete calm as an excuse, in effect hampering the efforts aimed for a resumption of peace talks." Mr Verhofstadt also called for simultaneous implementation of the Mitchell report, a ceasefire plan which calls for the dismantling of Jewish settlements and disarming of Palestinian gunmen, rather than by drawing out each stage as Mr Sharon - a patron of the illegal outposts in the West Bank and Gaza - demands. The EU position is expected to be amplified during Mr Powell's address. "There is now an identical point of view between the EU and the US," Mr Verhofstadt told a press conference. That was reason enough for displeasure for Mr Sharon, who said: "As for the seven-day hiatus, we are firm. That is our position and it is going to be our position in the future." But the rough ride given the EU delegation was compounded by Israeli anger and distrust of Belgium, where a court is to rule next week on whether Mr Sharon can be prosecuted for war crimes for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in a Beirut refugee camp in 1982. An Israeli judicial inquiry found Mr Sharon bore "personal responsibility" for the slaughter by Lebanese militiamen, and he was forced to step down as defence minister in 1983. "The trial there is nothing personal," Mr Sharon told a press conference yesterday. "What is happening there is an attempt to try the state of Israel and the Jewish people." By his side, Mr Verhofstadt gamely tried to warm the atmosphere, reaching out repeatedly to touch Mr Sharon's hand, or slap him on the back. Mr Sharon did not reciprocate. Instead, he said the international community had been duped by Mr Arafat into believing that he was arresting gunmen and suicide bombers when in fact they were "wandering freely in the streets, and preparing bombs and explosives". He also suggested the EU had been naive in bailing out Mr Arafat's cash-strapped administration. "Do not transfer your funds to the Palestinian Authority as your money will then be used to purchase weapons and firearms - weapons which will be directed against the state of Israel," Mr Sharon said. The forcefulness of Israel's response took some of the visitors by surprise. "At the very least, I found the welcome accorded to the EU delegation very strange," said the Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel. __________________ Guardian Unlimited ? Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 http://www.guardian.co.uk _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
