-Caveat Lector-
>From http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,684602,00.html
}}}>Begin
New threat to US peace mission
Suzanne Goldenberg in Jerusalem
Monday April 15, 2002
The Guardian
Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon threatened yesterday to derail a mission by the
US secretary of state, Colin Powell, to contain the seething crisis in the Middle East
by warning that his troops might storm the ruined headquarters of Yasser Arafat to
capture the killers of a far-right cabinet minister.
Mr Sharon's latest threats appeared intended to distract Mr Powell - as he set off for
Ramallah for a meeting with Mr Arafat - from the central aims of his visit: a
withdrawal of the Israeli forces now occupying most West Bank towns, and a
declaration of a ceasefire from the Palestinian leader.
Mr Sharon told his cabinet he was prepared to send in the army to seize those who
killed the far-right cabinet minister, Rechavam Zeevi, last October. Israel claims the
assassins are hunkered down in Mr Arafat's headquarters.
Mr Powell made little headway with the Palestinians at a surreal meeting with Mr
Arafat inside his bullet- scarred compound. He arrived in a cavalcade of bulletproof
vehicles, squeezing through a gap in the Israeli tanks and snipers surrounding the
headquarters.
After a three-hour meeting, the Palestinian leader remained firmly opposed to
declaring a ceasefire so long as Israeli tanks besieged West Bank towns. A tense Mr
Powell would only say: "We just completed a useful and constructive exchange" -
diplomatic code for an impasse. Mr Arafat did not face the press; Palestinian officials
said his absence was for security reasons.
Mr Sharon remains equally opposed to compromise, telling Mr Powell yesterday that
he would set no timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank.
But he renewed his proposal for a regional peace conference - without Mr Arafat, but
with countries such as Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria, an aide said.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described Mr Sharon's idea as a "waste of time".
US officials tried to put the best gloss on the day of deadlocked negotiations. State
department spokesman Richard Boucher said Mr Powell had had a "good and
thorough" discussion with Mr Sharon. "He stressed our serious concerns about the
humanitarian situation, particularly in Jenin," he said.
The controversy over what took place in last week's battle for Jenin refugee camp
continued yesterday after Israel's supreme court told the army that it must give the
Palestinians the bodies of those killed in the camp, while the army gave journalists a
limited tour of the devastation, denying that mass killings took place.
The court also ordered the army to include workers from the Red Cross in teams
searching for the bodies after more than a week of battles in the camp, the site of the
heaviest combat since Israeli troops launched a West Bank offensive on March 29.
The petition to the supreme court was filed by Arab Israelis who said Israel was
attempting to hide the number of dead. It has been impossible to confirm the camp's
death toll.
Mr Powell's mission is not yet officially a failure. US officials announced that the
secretary of state would visit Beirut today for talks with President Emile Lahoud
aimed at trying to prevent Israel's war with the Palestinians from spilling over to
Syria
and Lebanon.
The visit follows nearly two weeks of clashes on Israel's northern border between
Lebanese-based Hizbullah guerrillas and Israeli forces. Mr Powell is scheduled to
meet Mr Arafat again tomorrow.
But the US mission has yet to produce a breakthrough, with Mr Sharon defying world
opprobrium and continuing Israel's West Bank offensive, while Mr Arafat refuses to
submit to demands for a ceasefire unless Israel withdraws.
Yesterday's meeting in Ramallah effectively torpedoed a central aim of Israel's
offensive, which is to isolate Mr Arafat. It was delayed for 24 hours after a suicide
bombing in Jerusalem, and rescheduled only after Palestinian officials issued a
statement on Saturday, condemning such attacks - as well as "state terror".
In a TV interview the US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, made no fresh
calls on Israel to withdraw its forces. Instead, she said Mr Arafat "needs to use
whatever authority he has to end the calls for suicide bombers".
On Saturday, Israeli troops entered half a dozen new villages in the West Bank.
Asked if there was any deadline for ending the West Bank offensive, the Israeli
military spokesman, Brigadier- General Ron Kitrey, told Army Radio yesterday: "Of
course not."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
End<{{{
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