Posted on 06/02/2003 8:41:55 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Abbas to call for end to armed intifada
By Aluf Benn
Israel disappointed Palestinian PM doesn't plan to address uprooting terror in his summit speech
Israeli government sources who have seen the draft of the speech planned by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas for the end of tomorrow's Aqaba summit say they are disappointed that instead of addressing the need to uproot terror, Abbas will say the armed intifada must end and Palestinians should resort to "peaceful methods."
According to the draft of the speech seen by Israeli officials, Abbas plans to say "we will invest all our efforts, using all the means available to us, to end the military character of the intifada, and we shall succeed."
The summit tomorrow opens with a meeting between U.S. President George Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, followed by a Bush-Abbas meeting while Sharon meets King Abdullah, the host of the summit. That will be followed by the Bush-Sharon-Abbas session, which will conclude with each leader delivering a brief speech about their intentions to advance the political process.
According to information reaching Jerusalem, Bush's draft statement does not refer to Israel as a Jewish state, which is how Bush referred to the country at his University of South Carolina speech. Government sources said that in conversations with administration envoys William Burns and Elliot Abrams, Israel got the impression that the phraseology of Jewish state would be in the Bush summit statement, but now that impression has been reversed.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday said it is important for Israel to demand that the U.S. include the Jewish state clause in the Bush speech, and in any case, he would make sure Sharon used the phrase in his Aqaba speech. The mention of the Jewish state is seen in Jerusalem as a formula to deny the right of return of Palestinian refugees to inside Israel.
Sharon's speech will refer to the establishment of two states, promise to evacuate illegal outposts, and say Israel has no interest in ruling another people. He will speak of the importance of the fight against terror as the basis for any political settlement in the future.
Sharon invited Shalom, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Industry Minister Ehud Olmert, and Justice Minister Yosef Lapid to accompany him to the summit, along with his bureau chief Dov Weisglass.
Netanyahu associates say he turned down the invitation because he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, which is the focus of the road map. But if there is "serious progress" in the road map, Netanyahu will want to be involved to make sure Israel's reservations, which he played a role in attaching to the road map, are implemented. Netanyahu will take part in Sharon's consultations today.
Blackwill not chosen
Meanwhile, while the outgoing ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, will not be the chief American envoy to supervise the road map's progress, a State Department professional of assistant secretary level, will be appointed.
The person now considered likely to get the job has much experience in Asia, but none in Middle East affairs. He will manage the American inspectors who will arrive in the territories about a week after the summit this week. Their job is to make sure the Palestinians take steps against terror and that Israel dismantle the illegal outposts. According to the road map, that means all new outposts put up since March 2001.
That's an oxymoron, unless they mean a professional Arabist.
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