Gil Hoffman, Amotz Asa-El, and Calev Ben-David (Jerusalem Post) Prime Minister Sharon said in an interview published Friday: Arafat has led a strategy of terror for decades. He is the Number One enemy of peace. As a result of his policies over the past 40 years, thousands of Israelis are dead, mostly civilians, men, women, and children. As long as he is around, there is no chance for a settlement or any political process that can lead to peace. When he is not around there is a chance. I know Abu Ala, I've met him here [in the Prime Minister's Residence] and at my ranch, but I believe Israel needs to rely on itself and not proceed blindly. Palestinian leaders from now on will be judged by their results. The era of promises and talking is over. With Oslo, there was naivete, or even worse. It's strange to think that there were red carpets for Arafat and that they gave him a Nobel Prize. The Palestinians could have already been living right next to us in their own country. The Palestinian people know the damage that Arafat did to them. Our calculations for years have been that expelling him would not be good for Israel. Also, the likelihood of expelling him without harming him is low, not only because of his security guards but because he would be surrounded by a human chain of Israelis. The opinion of our intelligence services is that expelling him would not be a good idea. In the past, when Rabin was prime minister, they [the U.S.] took away money from our loan guarantees if we used part of it over the "green line." This may happen now also. I myself might tell the Americans that although we won't be happy about it, if you decide to remove money, then do it. We need to build a fence in places where we know it is integral for Israel's security. The fence has another reason. We are facing a wave of Palestinians moving into Arab towns within Israel....The Arabs who move here can then assist in terrorist activity....There are already tens of thousands who have moved inside pre-1967 Israel.
2003-10-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive