Israel will present Tuesday its official response to the Mitchell Committee report on the causes of the Al Aqsa Intifada to the US administration, said Haaretz.
"Israel accepts the report in principal," said Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Monday, adding that Israel will list its reservations on certain aspects of the report in its official response.
Minister without Portfolio Danny Naveh, who acted as the government's liaison with the international fact-finding committee, met with Peres on Monday to finalize the document.
The main points of the Israeli response are:
THE JEWSIH SETTLEMENTS
Israel rejects the Mitchell Committee's recommendation for a total freeze on settlement activity as a condition for restoring calm to the area. The Israeli position is that set by the government, namely that new settlements will not be built and that the government will "look after" the interests of the existing settlements.
According to the paper, the document will also point out that according to previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, the issue of the settlements was to be left to the final status agreements.
ISRAELI ARMY ACTIVITY
The Mitchell Report contained strong criticism of the Israeli army operations in the territories, noting in particular the excessive use of force and use of live ammunition against civilians.
“Israel refrains from addressing each and every one of the points made by the committee in its report, saying only that the conflict with the Palestinians is an armed one and not a civil uprising.”
Haaretz said that it will also point out that “IDF soldiers come under live fire constantly and that the army operates under the highest possible ethical standards.”
THE CAUSE OF THE CONFLICT
The Mitchell Committee rejected the Palestinians' claim that the Al Aqsa Intifada was prompted by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to Al Haram Al Sharif last September, as well as rejecting Israel's claims that it was pre-planned by the Palestinians.
“Israel will tell the US in response that the violent conflict erupted after Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat took the strategic decision to leave the negotiating table and turn instead to violence.”
STEPS BY THE PALESTINIANS
The Israeli response will point out the numerous breaches by the PA of existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, especially over security arrangements, while praising the report for the measures it suggested the Palestinians should now take.
Renewal of negotiations
Israel accepts the formula put forward in the report - a cease-fire, a "cooling off period," confidence building measures and a return to peace talks.
Israel wants the Palestinians to also understand the need to end the violence and return to the negotiation table, said Haaretz.
Israel will also point out to the US administration that the negotiations should also be based on the existing agreements and that the talks be carried out directly between the two sides, the paper added.
SHAATH URGES US TO ENDORSE MITCHELL REPORT
Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath on Tuesday urged President George W. Bush to endorse the Mitchell report on ending Israeli-Palestinian violence, saying such a move could help revive peace talks.
But Shaath, writing in an opinion column in The Washington Post, expressed deep skepticism about Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's commitment to peace.
He said a return to peace and stability in the region would require "changes in the status quo, such as withdrawal of Israel's army from populated Palestinian areas; a halt to Israeli settlement expansion; implementation of existing interim agreements; and relief from Israel's economic suffocation of the Palestinians."
Such steps, detailed in the report of a five-member commission led by former US Senator George Mitchell, a Maine Democrat, "are the only way to end the violence," Shaath wrote in the column, which was published in Tuesday's Post.
He rejected Sharon's repeated calls that the Palestinians must halt the violence before any peace talks could resume.
"Demanding that Palestinian leaders call for an end to violence without addressing the underlying cause of such violence -- military occupation -- is a nonstarter," he wrote.
SOLANA SAYS ISRAEL USING ‘DISPROPORTIONATE’ FORCE
The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana accused Israel on Monday of using "disproportionate" force against the Palestinians and urged both sides in the conflict to halt the violence.
"We have to stop the circle of violence, in particular now, these days, today when the situation is so bad. The Israelis are doing something disproportionate, to my mind," Solana said, cited by Reuters.
Solana, a member of the committee led by former US Senator George Mitchell which drew up a recent report on the causes of the violence, made his comments while welcoming UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the EU's Council of Ministers.
Solana and Annan both urged Israel to accept the findings of the Mitchell report.
"This is an important document which gives us some constructive, helpful ideas," said Annan.
"I hope the parties will take advantage of the work of the international community to help find an end to this tragedy, and at least to stop the killing and to ease the economic pain of the Palestinians," Annan said – Albawaba.com
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