Posted on 09/13/2001 3:09:59 PM PDT by truther
JERUSALEM (September 13) - The attacks in the United States require Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to decide immediately whether he wants to be a terrorist or a statesman, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres warned yesterday.
Peres said that if Arafat does not renounce terrorism, he will have to face the wrath of the world.
The balancing act Arafat has played successfully for years in appeasing the Western world while harboring and sponsoring terror can no longer continue, he said.
"This is a genuine opportunity for him to get out of the world of terrorism, and this is, in fact, the real test," Peres told Israel Radio. "He cannot hold on to both at the same time - to be engaged in terrorism, while at the same time being accepted internationally. No one can. Yesterday, in the United States, this choice was made clear cut, and no room for compromise now remains. I hope the Palestinians reach the proper conclusion."
Peres compared Palestinian terror to smoking, saying that "there's a point in your life where you either quit or you become its victim." Arafat seemed to take Peres's advice when he went out of his way to condemn the attacks and pledge his assistance. The US was pleased by Arafat's decision to cancel his trip to Syria, which is on the US list of countries that support terror.
One PA source said that Arafat does not want to be perceived as making alliances with the radical camp, but his adviser Bassam Abu Sharif said the trip was canceled because of the Israeli incursion into Jenin and because Israel closed its airspace after the attacks.
Arafat donated blood for those injured in the attacks at a Gaza hospital, and the Palestinians called for a midnight Christian-Muslim mass in Bethlehem to pray for the dead and injured at.
Palestinians emphasized that those who celebrated in the streets following the attacks were just "a handful of people." A PA source said that because Fatah activists were ordered to stop Palestinians from expressing their joy, there were no more signs of celebration yesterday.
Palestinian officials said evidence that the attacks may have been carried out by Islamic fundamentalists will pressure them to crack down on their own militants, which will be very unpopular on the Palestinian street.
The PA also organized an afternoon candlelight march to the US consulate in east Jerusalem to commemorate the victims.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials accused Israel of using the attention focused on the attacks to escalate military attacks in the Jenin area.
"The Israelis seized the opportunity of these tragic events to attack Jenin," Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei told US Consul-General Ron Schlicker. "This has created a new and delicate situation. We must wait and see how it will turn out."
Qurei said the attacks will either encourage US involvement to help renew peace talks and end the violence or lead to a hands-off policy. He said he is hopeful the meeting between Peres and Arafat will take place and lead to results.
"We have two options, either escalate the situation or be wise and put an end to all this," he said.
Palestinian sources said a meeting between Arafat and Peres could take place as soon as today. Peres and Arafat will meet this week despite today's terrorist attacks, European Union Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos said in Cairo.
A spokesman for Moratinos said there is no doubt the meeting will take place, and that it will be followed by two more meetings. The first meeting will be either at the Erez crossing by the northern Gaza Strip or in Taba, Egypt.
Louis Michel, foreign minister of Belgium, the European Union's rotating chairman, called upon Israel not to cancel the meeting, Israel Radio reported.
Asked about whether he still plans on meeting with Arafat, Peres said, "If they want to talk about how to end the violence, we are ready to help them end the violence. We are not giving anyone the 'cold shoulder.' But the Palestinians must declare that they are giving a comprehensive 'cold shoulder' to terrorism in all its forms."
Er, didn't he supposedly do that when he signed the Oslo agreement? His word didn't mean anything then, so what's another hollow denounciation going to mean now? Liberal idiots never learn, whether Americans or Israelis.
"Hey Charlie Brown, I'll hold the football while you kick it. I promise this time I will really hold it there".
They should have drained the little 2~faced demon dry!
That's the truth!
When they call war a "theater" and have "safe houses" for terrorists, and Powell is on the phone today trying to set up a meeting between Peres and Arafat. WHY????!!!! Arafat should have been on a one way HELL-o cell phone, not being talked to by the US Secretary of State as if he is legitimate!
What a f#cking GAME!! Going round and round. Act after act! (On another thread today there was an article about a book that Beyamin Netanyahu wrote in '95 about Arafat, the '93 WTC, Arabs dancing in the street, etc.)
END Arafat and THE P.L.O.T. NOW!!!
Those who let Terrorists live, are errorists!
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