Posted on 11/24/2003 6:51:47 PM PST by NormsRevenge
JERUSALEM - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Monday he was ready for a summit with Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), but only if the Israeli premier agreed to move on some tough Palestinian demands, including halting the construction of a West Bank security barrier.
Sharon said he would not accept preconditions for a summit, and the dispute threatened hopes for a decisive effort to end three years of violence and jump-start the stalled "road map" peace plan.
Momentum seemed to be building in recent days toward such a push after the main Palestinian militant groups agreed to a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, in early December to discuss a cease-fire with Israel.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Qureia said Israel should also stop all construction in Jewish settlements — a key road map plan requirement that Sharon has evaded — and end travel restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, lift a siege on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) and release Palestinian prisoners.
"If now Mr. Sharon says he's ready to discuss seriously (these) issues ... and declares that he's ready to take decisions that will satisfy both the Palestinian and Israeli sides, then I'll be ready to meet," he said. "I want a meeting that will end up with positive results."
However, Qureia gave no indication he would be willing to dismantle militant groups, as demanded by Israel and required by the road map. He stuck to his previous position that the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) would enforce quiet after a truce is reached.
Sharon told lawmakers from his Likud Party he might take unspecified unilateral steps if talks with the Palestinians failed. Media reports suggested these might include the dismantling of some isolated Jewish settlements as part of Israel drawing its border with the Palestinians.
Sharon also rejected any preconditions for a meeting with Qureia, saying, "if he wants to meet, we'll meet. If he doesn't, we won't," according to a participant in the closed-door Likud meeting.
The lawmaker said Sharon added that "if there is a cease-fire and the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure, they (the Palestinians) will attain an independent state."
Reaction was mixed. Cabinet Minister Uzi Landau said talk of unilateral evacuation of settlements "encourages terrorism." But deputy minister Yaakov Edri supported Sharon, saying that "after three years of bloodshed, in which we have proven to the Palestinians that they will gain nothing from terror, we can permit ourselves to take the initiative in diplomatic steps."
Skeptical Palestinians and Israeli doves saw a public relations gimmick.
"We've heard many promises, but nothing has come of them," said Israeli opposition leader Shimon Peres, adding that the removal even of small settlements would break up Sharon's center-right coalition.
Palestinians want a state in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites) — captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — and consider all Jewish settlements in those areas illegal. But some influential Palestinians have indicated Israel could keep some settlements if it gave the Palestinians some Israeli land in return.
The Palestinians also object to the security barrier, whose planned route cuts deep into the West Bank in several areas to incorporate Jewish settlements into the "Israeli" side. About a quarter of the planned 360-mile route of fences, walls, and trenches has been completed.
Israel says the barrier is needed to keep out suicide bombers; the Palestinians see it as a major land grab.
The United States also is increasing pressure on Sharon. After backing most of Israel's policies, including military strikes against Palestinians, President Bush (news - web sites) last week harshly criticized the security barrier and Israeli restrictions against Palestinians.
Elliot Abrams, head of the Middle East desk at the National Security Council, last week met secretly with Sharon while the prime minister was visiting Italy, an Israeli official confirmed Monday on condition of anonymity.
Abrams told Sharon he must dismantle illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank and freeze settlement construction, Israeli media reported.
It will never work!! A Palestinian state is foolish. Assume an equal and independent Palestinian state: there will be constant bickering over free access, water, fly over rights, payments for lands seized, etc. There will be Saudi funded terrorists killing Jews. The Jews will invade and take over and occupy the state and we will be right back where we are today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.