Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday briefed President George W. Bush on the latter’s proposal for an accord with the Palestinians, but there were signs of open disagreement at the Washington meeting, reported Haaretz newspaper.
Sharon presented his perspective on when and if peace talks would resume "in the final phase of the implementation of the Mitchell report on the continuing violence.”
Asked about reports of a dispute with Bush over approaches to implementing the report's recommendations, Sharon told reporters after the visit that he had come to Washington to set out Israel's positions for the Bush administration, and not America's positions.
"I am the prime minister of Israel, an independent nation, and the responsibility is on me. It's about time we began acting like an independent nation. Even a small country must act this way," he was quoted as saying.
Asked if there was a rift between Israel and the United States over the Mitchell report's recommended cooling-off period before returning to peace talks, Sharon replied: "I would suggest not creating something that doesn't exist," Haaretz quoted him as saying.
Sharon, in his interview with the foreign journalists, described his session with Bush as "one of the most exciting meetings we have had -- a special meeting." Sharon last visited the White House in March shortly after taking office.
"I told him: 'Let's make good history together for the Middle East. And in order to achieve this, let's avoid our predecessors' mistakes.'"
Yet Bush and Sharon, sitting side by side in the Oval Office, seemed to disagree openly on how to advance the Mitchell plan.
"Both parties have gotten down to the point where there can be some progress," Bush said.
His comments contrasted with those of Sharon, who sounded frustrated and pessimistic as he repeatedly demanded a total cessation of violence by the Palestinians before agreeing to proceed with the US plan for restarting peace talks, according to the paper.
Haaretz said Sharon brought a map of the West Bank to the visit, showing Bush the outlines of his plan.
“Sharon thus sought to demonstrate that if the Palestinians put a stop to terrorism and violence, and if the quiet meets the test of time, Israel would be prepared to make overtures to them during peace negotiations,” an Israeli official said.
Sharon reminded Bush of a remark the president made to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a dispute over US plans for a missile shield defense: "I appreciate your position, but this is the American position because it is good for America." Sharon then added, "The US is a great and giant power, and Israel is a small country, but what is good for America, is good for us as well."
During the meeting Sharon demanded 10 days of total calm with the Palestinians before moving ahead with a US plan to end nine months of bloodshed.
"I said it very clearly. Israel will never negotiate under fire," Sharon said after the White House talks that were followed by the departure of Secretary of State Colin Powell on a Middle East mission to bolster a shaky two-week-old cease-fire.
"I made clear that when violence and terror are over ... we will insist on 10 days of absolute quiet, and if there are 10 days, we will gladly move to a cooling-off period."
Later, in an interview with foreign reporters who accompanied him from Israel to the United States, Sharon cast doubt on Powell's chances of success.
"I don't know if he will succeed in achieving a result because (Palestinian President Yasser) Arafat has simply decided to continue terror. That's the problem. And if massive pressure is not brought upon him, he won't stop it," Sharon said.
The cooling-off period, which Sharon insisted should last at least six weeks, is part of a peace blueprint drawn by an international committee led by former US senator George Mitchell.
The plan calls also calls for confidence-building measures, such as a halt to construction at Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, after calm is restored, and an eventual return to peace talks.
Bush struck a more encouraging note, insisting that the "cycle of violence must be broken" and saying there was some progress in reducing clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.
"Is peace closer today than it was yesterday? We believe the answer is yes," he said. "Progress is being made."
POWELL LEAVES ON MIDEAST MISSION
Powell left for the Middle East shortly after the leaders' meeting to build on the fragile ceasefire and start moving toward eventual peacemaking, said reports.
According to a draft document obtained by Reuters, Palestinian officials plan to ask Powell to pressure Israel to freeze Jewish settlement activity within six weeks, before a complete end to hostilities.
Since the outbreak of the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict last September, CNN reports that Palestinians have killed at least 112 Israelis with weapons ranging from stones and knives to machineguns and car bombs. Israeli military sources have reported well over 600 injuries to Israelis of Jewish descent.
In the same time period, according to CNN, Israeli soldiers and armed Jewish settlers have killed 13 Arab Israelis and at least 458 Palestinians with weapons ranging from machineguns and tanks to US-made Apache helicopter gunships and F-16s.
According to Amnesty International, nearly 100 of the Palestinians killed were children.
In addition, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported over 14,000 Palestinians wounded, and over 500 killed.
Jewish author Noam Chomsky, who according to a New York Times Book Review article is “arguably the most important intellectual alive,” has been quoted as saying: “State terrorism is an extreme form of terrorism, generally much worse than individual terrorism because it has the resources of a state behind it.” – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
