(Washington Post/Newsweek) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Interviewed by Lally Weymouth - There is still terror, but it is quieter and there is less incitement than before. They have to dismantle terrorist organizations and punish them and collect weapons, which should be handed to a third party - only the U.S. can take them out of the Palestinian Authority areas and destroy them. As for the most important thing - steps against the terrorist organizations - we don't see any. The [Palestinians] have to implement the reforms and remove Yasser Arafat from a position of influence in the security and financial fields. As for the fence, the only two places where we have a wall is to protect the Israeli civilian population on the main Israeli highway that connects the southern part with the north. [There] Palestinians shoot at the traffic....The fence is not a political border. It is important to prevent terrorists or suicide bombers from entering central Israel and committing their crimes there. I am not very fond of this fence and would not have built it if I had not seen this nonstop effort to enter the center of the country and act there. We do not see the cease-fire as a solution to the problem....It gives the terrorist organizations time to manufacture hundreds of Kassam rockets with longer ranges, to equip themselves, to smuggle weapons, and to reorganize. That cannot be accepted as a solution to the problem. Because then we are hostages in the hands of terrorist organizations that can break the agreement every day. The agreement is between the PA and the terrorist organizations - not with us. Q: What is needed to bring about peace? Sharon: First, it needs Arab recognition that it is the birthright of the Jewish people to have a Jewish state in the homeland of the Jewish people. That we have not achieved yet. That might be regarded as the end of the conflict....[And] it needs strong and serious [Israeli] leadership that can make painful compromises on areas which are the cradle of the Jewish people. That's what I will try to do.
2003-08-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive