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Arafat's Reforms a 'Waste Of Time' |
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By Herb Keinon JERUSALEM, May 31, 2002 -- Israel is unwilling to take any more chances with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and attempts to build reform in the PA around Arafat are a waste of time, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will tell US envoy William Burns today, according to a senior diplomatic official. Burns, the assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs, arrived yesterday from Cairo and met with Arafat in Ramallah last night. He is to meet with Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres today, and with representatives of the other members of the Quartet the EU, UN, and Russia tomorrow. Sharon, according to the diplomatic official, will tell Burns and CIA Director George Tenet, who is to arrive early next week, that for any diplomatic process to take place Palestinian terror and incitement must end, accompanied by true security, governmental, and financial reform inside the PA. Sharon is also to meet today with Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. The diplomatic official acknowledged that the US is under intensive Arab pressure to provide a time line for diplomatic negotiations, in order to give the Palestinians the "political horizon" they claim is needed to end the violence. But Sharon has already laid out his own "political horizon" in terms of long-term interim agreements that could culminate in a Palestinian state, albeit on much less territory than what was offered by Ehud Barak, the official said. Referring to the meeting of international leaders with Arafat, the official said that all meetings with Arafat are counterproductive, because they are likely to be interpreted on the Palestinian street as signs that he still has international standing. "His position among the Palestinians is difficult," the official said. "But real challengers will only emerge if he is seen as weak." The Burns and Tenet visits come as US officials are increasingly saying it is unlikely an international conference will be convened at the beginning of the summer, as US Secretary of State Colin Powell said earlier this month. One US official said yesterday that the conference will not be held until an agenda is set, and in order for an agenda to be set the US will have to pressure Sharon, something US President George W. Bush is hesitant to do prior to the US midterm elections in November. The US official said that, although the administration would likely prefer pushing the conference off until after the elections, this may be difficult because of Powell's earlier comments that it will be held in the summer. Among those who are pushing for a firm time line are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is scheduled to go to Washington next week for a meeting with Bush. As has happened prior to Mubarak's visits to Washington in the past, he dispatched to Israel his political adviser, Osama el-Baz. Baz is to meet with Sharon today. Although Israeli officials are saying the Baz visit is "significant," because high-level dialogue between the two countries at this time is important, they also said yesterday that it is an attempt by Mubarak to improve the atmosphere with Israel before his trip to the US. One senior official in the Prime Minister's Office said that when Mubarak goes to Washington, he often hears criticism about anti-Semitic articles in the Egyptian press and the cool ties with Israel. Sending Baz to Jerusalem, he said, is a way for him to deflect the criticism, and to show that there are high-level talks between the two countries. "He is trying to create a different image," the official said. "He is trying to show that he plays a positive regional role and does not boycott Israel or Sharon." Meanwhile, Minister-without-Portfolio Dan Naveh, who has traveled to Egypt on a number of occasions trying to win the release of Azzam Azzam, an Israeli Druse who was convicted of espionage in September 1997, is to meet with Baz this morning and is expected to bring up Azzam's plight. © Jerusalem Post, 2002. Distributed in partnership with Globalvision News Network (www.gvnews.net). All rights reserved. |
