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Subj: [update] UN Force Headed for Israel?
Date: 11/6/00 3:12:56 AM Central Standard Time
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (James Trimm)
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My Groups | sanj-update Main Page
From Jerusalem Post
Monday, November 6 2000 08:53 8 Heshvan 5761
US said floating plan for int'l force in W. Bank, Gaza
By Herb Keinon and Janine Zacharia
JERUSALEM (November 6) - The US administration is testing the waters to see
if Israel will meet the Palestinians half way and agree to the posting of
some kind of international force in the territories, an Israeli source said
last night.
The UN Security Council is to take up the Palestinian demand for an
international force in a closed session planned for Wednesday. Until now,
both Israel and the US have been adamantly opposed to the idea.
US President Bill Clinton, eager to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to
lay down their arms, may try to persuade Prime Minister Ehud Barak to
accede to a temporary UN force to appease the Palestinians, when the two
meet at the White House on Sunday.
Officials here, however, say that the outcome of Clinton's Thursday meeting
with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will largely dictate the
agenda of the Clinton-Barak meeting. Overall, Clinton hopes to secure
promises from both leaders to implement the Sharm e-Sheikh security
understandings.
"The goal is to assess the situation on the ground and begin to find the
way back to the negotiating table," White House spokesman Jake Siewert said
yesterday.
According to the source, the idea the US is floating is for the posting of
a force that would not be armed, but would have observer status similar to
that of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), dispatched
after the Baruch Goldstein massacre in 1994. TIPH'S sole function is to
monitor and report on events. The force is composed of 30 Norwegians.
The source said that the idea has been broached by the highest echelons of
the US peace team, and that it was discussed with Foreign Minister Shlomo
Ben-Ami on his recent trip to the US.
Barak's spokesman said last night that he does not know whether Israel has
been contacted about this idea, but that Israel is adamantly opposed to it.
US Embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said he was unaware of any such
proposal. He added that it is not American policy.
The Foreign Ministry said last night that US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright and Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke told Ben-Ami that they
would oppose this initiative.
The Israeli source said that raising the issue fits a pattern whereby the
Palestinians have raised demands, and the US peace team, instead of
rejecting them out of hand, tries to find a way for the Palestinians to
feel they are getting some of what they want, while Israel's interests are
not harmed.
The source, however, said that the timing is especially bad, since Arafat
is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Thursday, and the fact that the US
is willing to even entertain the idea of an international force is sure to
give him encouragement to continue pressing the idea.
"It's come up in a number of meetings," said another Israeli official in
Washington. "The Americans ask whether we can work with this idea. But it
is a total non-starter from an Israeli perspective."
The White House yesterday officially announced that Arafat will be coming
for talks on Thursday, while Barak will arrive in Washington on Sunday.
Afterward, he will go to Chicago to address the United Jewish Communities
annual General Assembly.
Diplomatic sources said the talks will concentrate primarily on
implementing the Sharm e-Sheikh understandings, which called for a
cessation of violence, the formation of a fact-finding commission headed by
the US, and a return to negotiations.
Meanwhile, the cabinet heard a briefing on the security situation from
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz and OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen.
Amos Malka at its weekly meeting. According to their assessments, Arafat is
still interested in the diplomatic path, but will encourage violence to
improve his negotiating position.
The cabinet heard reports that Arafat has done nothing to curtail the
incitement in the PA. The atmosphere encourages terrorism, as does the
releasing of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners, security officials told the
ministers.
But Arafat does not want matters to get out of hand, because he does not
want to lose his status of statesman in the eyes of the world.
The cabinet also heard reports that Iran is sending terrorists to carry out
suicide missions in Israel, targeting buildings. In addition, the Iranians
are encouraging Hizbullah to kidnap soldiers and civilians in the North as
a way of helping the Palestinians.
One cabinet source said that dangers in the North and the likelihood of a
prolonged confrontation now with the Palestinians were discussed at great
length in an attempt to impress upon the ministers the urgency of approving
a request for an additional NIS 750 million in the defense budget next
year.
MK Silvan Shalom (Likud) said Barak's decision to travel to Washington
shows that he is willing to "reach an agreement at any price" and initiate
elections based on acceptance of a peace deal.
His plan is to ask voters whether they support peace or a continuation of
riots and casualties, Shalom said, while ignoring that Arafat initiated the
violence.
According to Shalom, Barak is continuing with the Camp David track when he
knows he does not have support of a majority of the Knesset and the people.
In a separate development, the cabinet yesterday approved the appointments
of two new ambassadors. Sando Mazor, formerly head of the police's
investigation division, will be dispatched to Romania and Eli Bar-Navi to
France, replacing Eliahu Ben-Elissar, who died in August.
Also yesterday, Saudi Arabia donated $30 million to the Palestinian
Authority to help overcome economic difficulties resulting from the closure
that has kept workers from entering Israel, Saudi officials said, according
to The Associated Press.
The closure has cost Palestinians $870 million, according to official
Palestinian estimates.
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Date: Mon, 06 Nov 2000 03:00:13 -0600
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Subject: [update] UN Force Headed for Israel?
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My Groups |
sanj-update Main Page
From Jerusalem Post
Monday, November 6 2000
08:53
8 Heshvan 5761
US
said floating plan for int'l force in W. Bank, Gaza
By Herb Keinon and Janine
Zacharia
JERUSALEM (November 6) - The US administration is testing the
waters to see if Israel will meet the Palestinians half way and agree to
the posting of some kind of international force in the territories, an
Israeli source said last night.
The UN Security Council is to take up the Palestinian demand for an
international force in a closed session planned for Wednesday. Until now,
both Israel and the US have been adamantly opposed to the idea.
US President Bill Clinton, eager to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to
lay down their arms, may try to persuade Prime Minister Ehud Barak to
accede to a temporary UN force to appease the Palestinians, when the two
meet at the White House on Sunday.
Officials here, however, say that the outcome of Clinton's Thursday
meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will largely
dictate the agenda of the Clinton-Barak meeting. Overall, Clinton hopes
to secure promises from both leaders to implement the Sharm e-Sheikh
security understandings.
"The goal is to assess the situation on the ground and begin to find
the way back to the negotiating table," White House spokesman Jake
Siewert said yesterday.
According to the source, the idea the US is floating is for the posting
of a force that would not be armed, but would have observer status
similar to that of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH),
dispatched after the Baruch Goldstein massacre in 1994. TIPH'S sole
function is to monitor and report on events. The force is composed of 30
Norwegians.
The source said that the idea has been broached by the highest echelons
of the US peace team, and that it was discussed with Foreign Minister
Shlomo Ben-Ami on his recent trip to the US.
Barak's spokesman said last night that he does not know whether Israel
has been contacted about this idea, but that Israel is adamantly opposed
to it.
US Embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said he was unaware of any such
proposal. He added that it is not American policy.
The Foreign Ministry said last night that US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright and Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke told Ben-Ami that
they would oppose this initiative.
The Israeli source said that raising the issue fits a pattern whereby the
Palestinians have raised demands, and the US peace team, instead of
rejecting them out of hand, tries to find a way for the Palestinians to
feel they are getting some of what they want, while Israel's interests
are not harmed.
The source, however, said that the timing is especially bad, since Arafat
is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Thursday, and the fact that the
US is willing to even entertain the idea of an international force is
sure to give him encouragement to continue pressing the idea.
"It's come up in a number of meetings," said another Israeli
official in Washington. "The Americans ask whether we can work with
this idea. But it is a total non-starter from an Israeli
perspective."
The White House yesterday officially announced that Arafat will be coming
for talks on Thursday, while Barak will arrive in Washington on Sunday.
Afterward, he will go to Chicago to address the United Jewish Communities
annual General Assembly.
Diplomatic sources said the talks will concentrate primarily on
implementing the Sharm e-Sheikh understandings, which called for a
cessation of violence, the formation of a fact-finding commission headed
by the US, and a return to negotiations.
Meanwhile, the cabinet heard a briefing on the security situation from
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz and OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen.
Amos Malka at its weekly meeting. According to their assessments, Arafat
is still interested in the diplomatic path, but will encourage violence
to improve his negotiating position.
The cabinet heard reports that Arafat has done nothing to curtail the
incitement in the PA. The atmosphere encourages terrorism, as does the
releasing of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners, security officials told
the ministers.
But Arafat does not want matters to get out of hand, because he does not
want to lose his status of statesman in the eyes of the world.
The cabinet also heard reports that Iran is sending terrorists to carry
out suicide missions in Israel, targeting buildings. In addition, the
Iranians are encouraging Hizbullah to kidnap soldiers and civilians in
the North as a way of helping the Palestinians.
One cabinet source said that dangers in the North and the likelihood of a
prolonged confrontation now with the Palestinians were discussed at great
length in an attempt to impress upon the ministers the urgency of
approving a request for an additional NIS 750 million in the defense
budget next year.
MK Silvan Shalom (Likud) said Barak's decision to travel to Washington
shows that he is willing to "reach an agreement at any price"
and initiate elections based on acceptance of a peace deal.
His plan is to ask voters whether they support peace or a continuation of
riots and casualties, Shalom said, while ignoring that Arafat initiated
the violence.
According to Shalom, Barak is continuing with the Camp David track when
he knows he does not have support of a majority of the Knesset and the
people.
In a separate development, the cabinet yesterday approved the
appointments of two new ambassadors. Sando Mazor, formerly head of the
police's investigation division, will be dispatched to Romania and Eli
Bar-Navi to France, replacing Eliahu Ben-Elissar, who died in August.
Also yesterday, Saudi Arabia donated $30 million to the Palestinian
Authority to help overcome economic difficulties resulting from the
closure that has kept workers from entering Israel, Saudi officials said,
according to The Associated Press.
The closure has cost Palestinians $870 million, according to official
Palestinian estimates.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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