Posted on 11/03/2003 3:12:58 PM PST by anotherview
Last Update: 03/11/2003 23:14
Sharon: PA leadership that objects to terror will soon arise
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ahead of their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. (AP)
MOSCOW - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is on a visit to Russia, said Monday he believes that "very soon a Palestinian leadership that objects to the path of terror, violence and incitement of [PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat will arise, and will be prepared to act with us to honestly implement the road map. When that happens, they will find us to be a serious partner, and together we will bring peace and quiet to both our people. I have no doubt that this will happen."
According to Sharon, speaking to leaders of the Jewish community in Russia, "we have already started to hold contacts with Abu Ala's people, in order to exhaust all possibilities to advance relations between us," referring to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.
Palestinian sources said that Shin Bet director Avi Dichter met Sunday night with Palestinian National Security Adviser Jibril Rajoub, to pave the way for a meeting between Qureia, Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
Sharon reiterated his promise to make "painful concessions" for a true peace, "despite the fact that were are conceding parts [of the country] that are the cradle of the Jewish people."
The prime minister also said that no concession will be made regarding the security of the State of Israel and the safety of its citizens.
"The escalation of the terror war against Israel has brought an outburst of anti-Semitism, and this time traditional hatred for the Jews has assumed a more modern incarnation, hate for the collective Jew, the state of Israel," Sharon said. "Accusations that were once aimed at every Jew are now targeted at Israel, along with the escalation in attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutes and organizations and Jews in general," Sharon added.
Sharon also referred to former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammed's anti-Semitic remarks, and said that the world's response to them was too soft. "We are working around the world against this phenomenon, and hope that the leaders of every state will condemn it unequivocally."
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Sharon on Monday that Moscow would reconsider its decision to submit a resolution to the United Nations Security Council for the formal adoption of the road map for Middle East peace.
The two met at the Kremlin on Monday for their third round of talks in Moscow since Sharon took office almost three years ago.
"If this bothers you, we won't apply pressure," said Putin, who also vowed to rethink his nation's stance during voting in the United Nations on resolutions pertaining to the Middle East.
Sources close to the prime minister said over the weekend that if the UN adopts the road map, it would be much harder to progress with the peace talks, as it would alleviate the Palestinians of their obligations in fighting terror.
Moscow is concerned by the level of violence in the Middle East, Putin said Monday, and pledged that he would do all he could to end the bloodshed.
"We follow closely how our former countrymen settle down and go about their lives in Israel and the worsening of the situation in the Middle East gives us certain concern about their future," Putin said, refering to immigrants from the former Soviet Union who make up around one-sixth of Israel's population.
"This among other things is the reason why we are ready to go on taking an active part, as far as this is possible, in finding a settlement to the situation in the Middle East," he said.
Putin also devoted a considerable amount of time in the meeting to the issue of anti-Semitism, in light of the European Union poll in which 59 percent of Europeans identified Israel as a threat to world peace. He also relayed details of his conversations with the newly-retired Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, who recently charged that Jews "run the world."
The president told Sharon that in another two years Moscow would hold a major exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany, including a section on the Holocaust, which would then become a museum devoted to the subject. He recalled his own trip to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, and added that the Ethnography Museum in Saint Petersburg would soon establish a wing dedicated to the history of the Jewish community in Russia.
Sharon also raised the necessity of halting Iran's nuclear program and of ensuring that Tehran's last declaration on agreeing to international inspectors to visit its nuclear installations will be followed through.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in response that Russia is always opposed to the development of non-conventional weapons, including by Israel.
"It is up to us to pressure Israel as well, so that we can raise protests over Iran and North Korea," he said.
The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rohani, on Monday cancelled his trip to Moscow hours before he was due to arrive, the Iranian embassy in Russia said.
Russian companies are involved in the installation of nuclear power stations in Iran, near the city of Bushar, which had originally been planned to be up and running by the end of this year. Moscow recently announced that the project had been delayed.
Ha'aretz | 3 November 2003 / 8 Cheshvan 5764 | Aluf Benn and Haaretz Service
Yeah, Tom Ridge is against Terror and he's from Pennsylvania.
The prime minister also said that no concession will be made regarding the security of the State of Israel and the safety of its citizens.
Utter B.S.
"The escalation of the terror war against Israel has brought an outburst of anti-Semitism..."
You are going to Hell for this lie sharon.
The outburst of anti-Semitism is because Israel allows its citizens to be blown up on a regular basis - with Jewish childrens' kidneys in the streets and faces of old women torn off. You, sharon, have given the green light to the world to kill Jews by not dealing with the problem at home. What is a Jew's life worth in the world when it is worth zero in Israel?
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