Sharon will not accept Saudi initiative
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 3/2/2002

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is rejecting all European, American and Arab initiatives, said an Arab Knesset member.

In an interview with the Egyptian TV program "Good Morning Egypt" on Thursday, Ahmad El-Tibi, leader of the Arab Movement for Change, said talk now is about the Saudi initiative which put the ball at the Israeli court.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ben Abdel Aziz's overture which proposes swap of a full Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories, has apparently embarrassed the Israeli decision makers who are trying to render the move a bilateral Israeli-Saudi public relations issue, said Tibi.

The Palestinian leadership has accepted the initiative which comes at this particular crucial time to tell the whole world that Arabs are seeking real peace, he said.

The peace Arabs want should be based on ending the occupation, not reorganizing it, said Tibi, adding that Sharon will not accept it "otherwise he would not be Sharon.

Sharon is trying to market himself as the apostle of the central moderate trend but his popularity is declining in the eyes of the Israelis, added Tibi.

The Israeli society has undergone three stages since the election of Sharon, said Tibi. The first was a hope to quell the Intifada but this hope was dashed. The second is the stage of anger at the Palestinian suicide operations inside Israel. The third was the frustration and disappointment at Sharon's failure.

Sharon started receiving several embarrassing questions about the destination he is taking the Israelis to.The media which used to tackle Sharon delicately over more than a year, have now started sending untrodden questions about lack of individual and communal security in Israel.

This is the worst year in Israel's security history since 1967 as far as the number of casualties and the economic and social losses were concerned, said Tibi.

Sharon knows very well that his political future is in danger, added Tibi.

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