-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Sharansky: 'If violence doesn't end, we'll go to war' By Herb Keinon JERUSALEM (May 31) - The current unilateral cease-fire cannot continue indefinitely, and if Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat does not take this opportunity to stop the violence, Israel's next step will likely be to go to war to wipe out the military and terror infrastructure in the PA, Housing Minister Natan Sharansky told The Jerusalem Post yesterday. "I think that for many years we have made great efforts to turn Arafat into a partner," Sharansky said. "I think now we are at the end of the road; it is the last chance for Arafat to prove that he can still be a partner. I don't have a lot of hope. At some point we have to be willing to say we did not succeed, he is not willing to be our partner. Then you have to know how to fight and defend your people." Asked if this means that if Arafat does not join the cease-fire, Israel should go to war against the PA, Sharansky replied: "What does that mean, to initiate a war? We are in a war, no? We are in a war where we are not using our strength. Everyday our people are being killed. I am not saying to reconquer Gaza, but we need to fight with all the strength we have against the terror infrastructure." The question of the cease-fire was discussed yesterday at a meeting of the security cabinet, of which Sharansky is a member, but no vote was taken or formal decision made on how long to keep up the policy of restraint. The overall tone of the meeting, however, was that the cease-fire will continue, with some diplomatic officials saying it will likely go on until Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returns next Thursday from his visit to Germany, Belgium, and France. Transportation Minister Efraim Sneh spoke in favor of the cease-fire at the meeting, saying that "the government needs to transmit a message of steadfastness and determination to the nation. The present conflict is a continuation of a long struggle. Those asking what will be in the end are showing that they do not understand the beginning. If there will not be a cease-fire, we need to use force wisely. An unwise use of force will isolate Israel, instead of isolating Arafat." On the other hand, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Shlomo Benizri argued against further restraint, saying that "every day we bury our dead in order for the world to give us a medal." He said that Israel needs to clamp a hermetic closure on the territories, because every day some 50,000 Palestinian enter the country without proper permits. Sharansky, in an interview conducted after the meeting, said the purpose of a war with the Palestinians would be to "destroy the military and terrorist infrastructure in the PA. We tried, are trying [to return to negotiations], but now have arrived at a moment of truth. Not only is Arafat not a partner, not only does he not fulfill his obligations [under the Oslo Accords], he fights and kills us." He said that advisers to Arafat have said in moments of candor that their strategy is to make Israelis afraid "to go to the movies or send their kids out," so that eventually "we will do everything they ask, will allow the right of refugees to return. He is trying to destroy us through a war of attrition, every week killing a number of people. This is the last chance to convince him not to take that path, but to return to the route of negotiation." Asked whether he agrees with Sharon's cease-fire policy, Sharansky said it is "very important" to give a last chance to the possibility of ending terror and returning to negotiations. But, he added, as important as it is to want to gain understanding abroad, at some point the government will have to say that fateful decisions affecting the Jewish people are in its hands and not in the hands of the rest of the world. "The main reason why people immigrate to Israel, stay in Israel, is because this is the country where the fate and future of the Jewish people is in the hands of the Jewish people," Sharansky said. "I lived in other countries, and I know how big and important that difference is, that this is a state that stands behind every citizen. That is the reason for the country's existence." Sharansky said the government must be careful not to be so concerned about world opinion that it damages the feeling "that this is the only country where Jews are champions of their own destiny." Asked what plan of action he recommends to Sharon, Sharansky said: "I think we must tell the truth, all the truth, about Arafat, not to censor anything. And then if, God forbid, there is no choice, if it is clear there is no partner, then we need to choose our strategy of how we fight against the enemy, we need to explain that strategy very clearly to our friends, and also to our people, and enter into a war." Sharansky said that Sharon's decision to unilaterally call a cease-fire was genuine in that he hoped that Arafat would take him up on the offer. At the same time, it was also meant to show both the world and Israelis who is to blame for the violence. As to whether the cease-fire was meant to prepare the nation for war, Sharansky said: "I think it was one of two things. Either Arafat would go this route [of the cease-fire], which would be great. Or he would not, and at least we could say that we did everything we could." *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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