Rice urges Israel to avoid unilateral steps on Jerusalem

Ha'aretz ^ | 6 February 2005 | Aluf Benn, Haaretz Staff, and Agencies

[anotherview]

Last Update: 06/02/2005 20:55
Rice urges Israel to avoid unilateral steps on J'lem
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent Haaretz Staff and Agencies

Prime Miniser Ariel Sharon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ahead of their talks in Jerusalem on Sunday.
(AP)

Condoleezza Rice laying a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem on Sunday.
(Reuters)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and President Moshe Katsav, and urged them to maintain the status quo over Jerusalem, and avoid taking any unilateral steps on the disputed capital which could harm Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli sources said Rice was referring to the government's decision from last summer to apply the absentee property law to tens of thousands of dunams (acres) of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz last week instructed Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order an immediate halt to the application of the law. The sources said Rice may also have been referring to the decision to build the separation fence in Jerusalem, and to expand Jewish neighborhoods in the city.

Rice said Sunday that the disengagement plan is an historic opportunity, and that the future security of Palestinians and Israelis will be ensured only by two states exisiting side by side.

In an interview with TV Channel 2 Rice emphasized the importance of direct contact between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, and minimum involvement of mediators such as the U.S.

When asked about the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the secretary of state said that while new demographic realities since 1967 must be taken into account, the parties must reach an agreement accommodating to the needs of them both.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who was the first Israeli official to meet with Rice on Sunday, told the secretary of state, "Israel will not relinquish its sovereignty over Jerusalem. The issue of Jerusalem will be left to the final status agreement, but we have to intention to harm the Palestinians."

Rice also said that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan must be implemented without delay, and carried out according to its timetable. She told Shalom that Abu Mazen [Abbas] was elected through democratic elections and he needs as much help as possible to give a firm basis to his leadership. Shalom responded that "the pain of the settlers [to be evacuated under the plan] must be understood and empathy must be shown. These people do not know where they will live or where they will work.

Rice arrived in Israel in an optimistic mood Sunday afternoon, as she prepared for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials two days before the first official Middle East summit since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last November.

Her first stop was a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, where she laid a wreath inside the Hall of Remembrance.

She then met with Shalom, followed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. She is also due to meet President Moshe Katsav later Sunday.

Ahead of their meeting, Sharon said he was sure his talks with Rice would "contribute to the friendly relations between the two countries." Sharon said he also expected her visit to contribute to the peace process, "which we want to very much want to push forward in the region."

In response, Rice said U.S.-Israel relations were solid "because we share not just interests but values." She said her goal was to "try to advance the cause of peace and to overcome the scourge of terrorism."

Before meeting Shalom, Rice said, "we will ask of our partners and our friends in Israel that Israel continues to make the hard decisions that must be taken in order to promote peace and... the emergence of a democratic Palestinian state.

"This is a time of optimism because fundamental changes are underway in the Middle East as a whole," she added.

After their meeting, Shalom told Channel 2 television that he gave Rice Israel's demands of the Palestinians.

"If the Palestinians do not to everything to halt the smuggling of weapons through tunnels, close the tunnels, close the weapons workshops, gather up illegal weapons - we would simply be giving the violent groups time to regroup and then carry out terror attacks that could collapse the whole process," he said.

On Monday, Rice will travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.

Tuesday's summit, hosted and initiated by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, will be attended by Sharon, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah.

Although the U.S. has said that the secretary of state will not attend the talks, her agenda is likely to include in part a review of the plans for the summit.

Rice has signaled she prefers to see Sharon and Abbas make progress as free of foreign mediation as possible.

"I hope we would all get into a mind-set that says if the parties are able to continue to move on their own, that's the very best outcome," Rice told reporters en route to Ankara, the stop before Israel.

Preparations for the Egypt summit are being finalized, but not before her arrival.

Israeli officials assessed that the secretary of state would commend both sides on their recent efforts.

Paul Patin, a spokesman of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, said Rice would bring up a wide range of issues, including Israel's commitment under the internationally backed road map peace plan to dismantle dozens of unauthorized West Bank settlement outposts and Israeli gestures to the Palestinians, such as the removal of Israeli checkpoints that disrupt Palestinian travel - gestures that would bolster confidence in the new Palestinian leadership.

"Outposts are something that they promised to remove years ago and we expect them to abide by their commitments," Patin said.

She is also expected to call on the Palestinians to do more to restore security and bring an end to violence.

For their part, the Americans are trying to play down Rice's absence from the Egyptian summit.

"It is not necessary to participate at the highest level in every gathering in order to be a major player and part of the solution," a State Department spokesman explained Saturday.

In Israel, police raised their level of operations in various regions around the country Sunday, in anticipation of Rice's arrival and the run-up to Tuesday's summit.

Police decided to bolster forces around the country and checkpoints were set up between the seam line and various Israeli cities. Police will conduct both regular and undercover patrols.

Sharon may invite Mubarak Israeli officials, meanwhile, said Sunday that Sharon may invite his Egyptian counterpart to visit Israel during Tuesday's summit, as relations between the former enemies continue to flourish.

The invitations "is quite likely," said an unnamed official. "We would very much like him to come."

In recent months relations have improved as Egypt took a larger role in mediating between Israel and the Palestinians. The last visit by an Egyptian leader to Israel was by Mubarak in 1995, when he came to the funeral of assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

[dervish]

I have only heard one arrogant person on this thread -- the one pretending to be a moderator and telling others they don't belong here.

[SJackson]

Fine thread, an example of FR at it's worst.

[No Blue States]

We will live, regardless of where this thread goes another similar one will replace it soon enough.

That said, I will never ping a mod again as it is an exercise in futility.

[American in Israel]

No, it seems in the United States Dictionary, betrayal comes before ally.

[American in Israel]

Oh boy. More Messianic predictions. More arrogance. Whatever. Time will tell. I'm putting my money on President Bush and Condi Rice.

You bet on Condi, I will bet on God. Talk about Arrogance!

[American in Israel]

Your interpretation is lacking, and leads to destruction. But, you may figure that out in time I hope. When your Mochiach defiles Himself and claims to be God incarnate, you may understand. Many Jews will die on that day at the hand of the rejected "Messiah".

Keep an open mind my friend, for if you could predict the future by your own standards, you would claim to be the Moshiach.

It will not be the next few months, breath easy.

But as for my understanding of the Jewish prophecies, Might I ask you to read Ezeq 36?

Do you understand that is happening right now? Can you explain why it is happening, what proves that it is now? I suspect you are Jewish, few Jews have a clue about prophecy. New Age, Bhudisim, Caballah witchcraft perhaps, but the Tanach? Rabbi forbid!!!

[M 91 u2 K]

If you think the Israelis are ungrateful then what about the So called Palestinians who danced in the streets on 9/11?

[Jeremiah Jr]

Revelation 16:19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

[Atlantic Friend]

Indeed, I would have gladly seen a flurry of French military material go into Iraq in 2003 as it was in 1990 for the first Iraqi crisis.

[Nachum]

There will still need to be a formal structure of government

There will be. I doubt that it will be a completely egalitarian democracy, even though someone still has to pick up the garbage. A monarchy operates with laws also, jut not merely the laws that men decide to keep or throw away.

Ultimately we are describing a theocracy. It would be a voluntary one, but never the less, not entirely representative government as in the US.

[Convert from ECUSA]

"If you think the Israelis are ungrateful then what about the So called Palestinians who danced in the streets on 9/11?"

Exactly!

[dervish]

hey you are quoting me from another thread, that's flattering.

Thanks for the computer help.

[Sunsong]

One point worth noting is that most of the representatives of that latter group in this forum do not live in Israel. They live in the United States. The extremist groups Kach and Kahane Chai are banned as terrorist groups there (though the bans are sporadically enforced).

So now you seem to be admitting they are extremists :-) - Most of the folks posting on this thread are taking an extreme view ie saying that the Palestinians elections aren't valid - bashing President Bush and Dr. Rice - opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state (when a large majority of Americans want it) etc. My view is they would probably be happier elsewhere and besides that they do not present a positive view of what Free Republic is all about.

Most of them are sick of fighting, yet quite sensibly expect the Palestinians to be reasonable as well. That's the approach the Bush Administration has taken.

I'm sure that is true. Otherwise Sharon would not still be in power. As Charles Krauthammer noted yesterday - the Palestinians are no longer asking for land - they are asking Israel to stop killing the terrorist leaders and targeting their infrastructure - in other words peace for peace . That is a fair deal, imo.

We will see what Abbas is able to accomplish. Hamas has stated that they do not have to abide by the cease fire. That will need to change - but a new wind is blowing the ME and hope and optimism are called for - not this dark, hostile extremism.

[M 91 u2 K]

So now you seem to be admitting they are extremists :-) - Most of the folks posting on this thread are taking an extreme view ie saying that the Palestinians elections aren't valid -

It was a joke election there was no open and free debate.

I'm sure that is true. Otherwise Sharon would not still be in power. As Charles Krauthammer noted yesterday - the Palestinians are no longer asking for land - they are asking Israel to stop killing the terrorist leaders and targeting their infrastructure - in other words peace for peace . That is a fair deal, imo.

The main reason the terrorist attacks are down is because Israel has built a wall and killed many so called Palestinian terrorists.

The Muslim Nazis are bleeding and need a break so Abbas is playing the merry go round of peace talks. Bush just like Clinton is wasting his time. Abbas will get freed terrorists who can give lost man power to Hamas, and get CIA training and weapons for his terrorist groups.

Abbas will get Israel to ease the check points and make it easier for Muslim Nazis to get in.

Abbas will then walk out of the peace talks like Arafat and blame Israel for not giving everything up and we are back to where we started.

Peace is desirable. A 2 state solution would be great if the so called Palies were to magically stop hating Jews and we can all hold hands and sing coombayaa!

There are no Palestinians they are all Egyptian and Jordanian Muslims.

Where is this Palestinian state?

According to Palestinian textbooks it encompasses all of Israel.

Second of all Abbas founded Fatah in 1965! Before Israel acquired Yesha(The West Bank and Gaza). From 1948 to 1967 there was no PLO fighting Jordan and Egypt for freedom. Abbas like Arafat is Egyptian.

Put that all aside and you will be ignoring history and doomed to repeate which means more dead JEWS!

If OBL said he wants a cease fire should we negogiate with him?

[Sunsong]

See? Denial of responsibility and continuance of evil. No change.

Looking for the tiniest bit of negativity and pessimism you can find in the midst of such hope and opportunity? :-)

Some see the glass half-full and look for signs of goodness, truth and beauty - others are naysayers and doomsdayers, others do not believe in miracles, and therefore, imo, cannot say that they love truly God.

[Sunsong]

I have only heard one arrogant person on this thread -- the one pretending to be a moderator and telling others they don't belong here.

It is hard for people who are as arrogant as the anti-Bush, anti-Rice crowd here to see much of anything but their own inflated sense of self.

This site is not about extremism and being against what President Bush is trying to do. I really think you would be happier on a more extremist site.

[Sunsong]

You bet on Condi, I will bet on God. Talk about Arrogance!

You expose your extreme arrogance in your short statement. God is on all sides. To proclaim that God is for you and not for all is the height of arrogance. You can be sure that God loves and supports Dr. Rice with 100% of His Love and Power just as He loves all parties in this horrible conflict.

You should be ashamed. You essentially blaspheme God by trying to make God in your limited image!

[Sunsong]

If you think the Israelis are ungrateful then what about the So called Palestinians who danced in the streets on 9/11?

What do the Palestinians have to be grateful for?

Israelis have a lot to be grateful to America for.

[M 91 u2 K]

What do the Palestinians have to be grateful for?

So it is alright if they dance on the streets on 9/11?

The so called Palies have recieved billions in aid and every time they kill JEws they run to America for help.

[Sunsong]

You are certainly adept at negativity and pessimism. This is a time of hope and opportunity. Too bad you can't see it.

Peace is desirable. A 2 state solution would be great if the so called Palies were to magically stop hating Jews and we can all hold hands and sing coombayaa!

The Palestinians will "magically" stop hating Jews when their lives improve - when they have the freedom and capacity to live better, more normal lives. Now is a chance to help more of them move in that direction.

Stay tuned. Times have changed. Arafat is dead. This may not be a time for peace - but it is a time for change and for hope and for opportunity seized.