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Appeasing the Terrorists Will Only Strengthen Them

(Prime Minister's Office) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - Prime Minister Sharon told the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Tuesday: * I came here from Jerusalem, the eternal, united, and undivided capital of the State of Israel and the Jewish people forever and ever. * The strength of U.S.-Israel relations is visible in the unprecedented bipartisan support Israel receives in the United States Congress and the public. We see eye to eye on strategic issues such as: the global war on terrorism, the need to reach a peaceful solution with the Palestinians according to the Roadmap, the threats to the stability of the Middle East from Syria, Lebanon, and Hizballah, and the dangers of a nuclear Iran. * The Roadmap is the only political plan for a peaceful solution with the Palestinians. The sequence of the Roadmap states that progress will be in stages in order to examine developments. It emphasizes that true peace will only be realized after full security is achieved and terrorism is eliminated. * We believe disengagement will increase Israel's security and reduce friction between the Palestinians and us. It will help advance our national strategic interests, promote our economy and prosperity, and advance the development of the Negev and the Galilee. * It is thanks to the disengagement that we can make certain that there will be no entry of Palestinian refugees into Israel. In addition, the major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria will remain an integral part of the State of Israel and will have territorial contiguity with Israel in any final status agreement. * In implementing the disengagement plan there is the potential of paving the way to the Roadmap. I call upon the leaders of the Palestinian Authority to meet the challenge and coordinate the disengagement with us. The successful coordination of the Disengagement Plan will allow us to embark on a new era of trust and build our relations with the Palestinian Authority. * In this pre-Roadmap phase - and we are still in the pre-Roadmap phase - we see great opportunities in the election of Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. We hope he will be able to lead his people and create a democratic law-abiding society that will build its institutions, undergo a broad reform process, fight terrorism, and dismantle the infrastructure and the terrorist organizations. * We will do our utmost to cooperate with the new Palestinian leadership and will take the needed measures to help Chairman Abbas. We are willing to help Chairman Abbas as much as we can, as long as we do not risk our security. That is the red line. * Until now, terrorist activities have not yet ceased. The smuggling of weapons and arms production continues, and there is no real prevention of terrorist actions. Progress towards the Roadmap can be achieved only after the terrorist organizations are dismantled. Appeasing the terrorists and engaging them into the Palestinian political system will only strengthen them.
2005-05-25 00:00:00
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