Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al Rantissi, attends a demonstration against the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq (news - web sites), in Gaza April 8, 2004. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
#1 on the Hit List
Posted on 04/08/2004 8:40:52 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
GAZA (Reuters) -
The Palestinians have been promised substantial U.S. aid if they ensure peace in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) should Israel end its 37-year occupation, their foreign minister said on Thursday.
Nabil Shaath told Reuters in an interview that talks were going ahead on drawing Islamist militants into a body to help end violence in Gaza and further a U.S.-backed peace plan that promises statehood to Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) wants to evacuate Jewish settlers from Gaza in a unilateral move that could supersede Washington's "road map" plan, stymied by a vicious cycle of attacks and reprisals.
Sharon, who expects President Bush (news - web sites)'s approval when he visits Washington next week, also wants to keep big settlement blocs in the West Bank on land which Palestinians want for a viable state.
But Shaath said U.S. envoys had assured him any Israeli "disengagement" would not tear up the road map and Palestinians could count on major aid if they brought order to Gaza.
"The Americans told us...that provided the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) proves able to maintain full security and end violence, the U.S. will lead a major effort to provide financial aid not only for relief and reconstruction but also for major development and job creation in Gaza," Shaath, seen as a moderate, said.
Israel and the United States have long accused Yasser Arafat (news - web sites)'s Palestinian Authority of failing to crack down on militant factions that are behind attacks on Israelis.
PALESTINIANS CITE U.S. PLEDGES ON ROAD MAP
Shaath said U.S. envoys, who met both sides last week to assess the implications of Sharon's plan, had also told him that there would be no green light for Israel to expand and perpetuate major settlements in the West Bank.
In Washington, U.S. sources said on Tuesday that "understandings" on key components of Sharon's initiative had been hammered out, but gave no details.
Sources close to Sharon said he anticipated U.S. assurances that Israel would not be forced under any final peace treaty to cede all land captured in the 1967 Middle East war or accept Palestinian refugees from wars dating back to 1948.
Both issues are central Palestinian conditions for peace.
Shaath said talks between Arafat's Fatah (news - web sites) group, the powerful Muslim militant movement Hamas and lesser factions were geared to forging a firm cease-fire and a power-sharing body to run Gaza before elections.
But he said Hamas, sworn to destroy Israel, would have to join an administration led by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, which wants a state alongside Israel.
"If it wants to join in decision-making, it means a participation in Authority institutions, it means it wants to be a real political party and go into elections. It will be the start of a full working democracy," he said.
But spokesmen for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Muslim militant group, said that while they were ready to take part in running Gaza once Israelis left, they would reject any Authority obligations based on 1990s interim peace deals for negotiated co-existence with Israel.
(additional reporting by Mark Heinrich)
Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al Rantissi, attends a demonstration against the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq (news - web sites), in Gaza April 8, 2004. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
#1 on the Hit List
#2 on the Hit List
But Trying Harder
An Israeli man carries an automatic rifle as he walks with a young girl in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 8, 2004. Israelis were advised by officials to carry their personal weapons as the nation has been on high alert for the week-long Jewish Passover holiday. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
| Rank | Location | Receipts | Donors/Avg | Freepers/Avg | Monthlies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Massachusetts | 560.00 |
15 |
37.33 |
292 |
1.92 |
145.00 |
9 |
Thanks for donating to Free Republic!
Move your locale up the leaderboard!
A member of the traditional band 'the Solomons' performs in front of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the divided West Bank city of Hebron. Some 10,000 Israelis took over the streets of the one of the largest Palestinian towns in a massive show of support for Jewish settlers during the Passover holiday.(AFP/Marco Longari)
A Palestinian worker takes a tea break, Thursday, April 8, 2004 at a construction site for a new hotel in Gaza city. The Palestinians expect a large aid package from the United States and other donor countries to help rebuild the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) after an Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath said Thursday. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
Are they kidding??
Get a job!
In this photo released by the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites), Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), left, meets with the secretary of the Italian Communist Party Fausto Bertinotti, center, at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Thursday, April 8, 2004. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/HO/Palestinian Authority, Hussein Hussein)
The Palies won't be able to keep their end of it, but will expect the U.S. to cough up anyway.
Oh, like *that's* ever gonna happen!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.