Sharon renews rejection to all international resolutions
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 4/17/2002

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon renewed his rejection to all international resolutions relating to the region's question. He said that Israel will not accept the implementation of UN resolution 194 provided for the return back of the Palestinian refugees, noting that he wants those Palestinians to be settled in the areas where they do exist.

Sharon also rejected any discussion to the issue of occupied Jerusalem or any UN decision to this effect. He said:" the question of Jerusalem will not be under discussion, any way." While Sharon had met with the US secretary of state Colin Powell, the latter said that negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides attained a progress in formulating a text on what is called "ceasing fire," noting he will meet with the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat today to strengthen this progress.

However, the Israeli army chief of staff Shaoul Moufaz doubted the success of the American role to reaching a cease fire and noted that any American move including Powell's visit to the region will not make a change. He renewed his accusations to the Palestinian authority of practicing violence.

On the other hand, the Palestinian local self- rule official in the Palestinian authority Saeb Oreikat expressed his optimism in Powell's mission. He explained that he and his colleagues held meetings he described as good with the American officials and that he will put the results of these meetings before Arafat and Powell. Oreikat added that the Palestinians and the Americans are embarking to study a process linking between security, political and economic issues.

Simultaneously Oreikat warned against Powell's leaving the region before forcing Israel to abide by immediate pullout from the Palestinian territories which its had occupied.

On the other hand, the Israeli defense minister Benjamin Bin Aliazer said that Powell informed him that the US administration started preparations for convening the regional conference called upon by the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon. Bin Aliazer claimed that the Israeli forces will pull out within one week from Jenin and Nablus and will be redeployed around them.

The Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres said that the correct solution to the current crisis is the pulling out of the Israeli forces from the Palestinian areas and established an unarmed Palestinian state.

The American negotiating delegation with the Palestinian authority set a precondition on Arafat which is to sign, himself, on a document under preparations which abides the Palestinian authority to chase and arrest every Palestinian who tries to hold weapons and to use it against Israel.

The Israeli radio said that the Palestinian side agreed on the said precondition after adding a sentence saying "the Palestinian authority abides by implementing this precondition according to own abilities," after the Palestinian side raised the fact that the Palestinian police and security cannot chase armed men with their current conditions after Israel had destroyed the infrastructure of both the Palestinian security and police forces and killed or arrested most of their members.

Meantime, Palestinian sources said that the Palestinian and American teams are working for crystallizing a joint text stressing that the foundation of an independent Palestinian state will be only through negotiations.

On the Palestinian side, Nabil Shaath called for investigations into the crimes committed by the Israeli forces in Jenin camp, noting that more than 500 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli invading forces.

Shaath expressed his fears towards the safety of Marwan al-Barghouti, the secretary of the Fatah movement in the West Bank, recently arrested by Israel, describing Barghouti's arrest as an attempt to explode every opportunity to halt the conflict. In a statement, The Palestinian legislative council held the Israeli government fully responsible for Barghouti's life and called for his immediate release, because his detention is a violation to his parliamentary immunity as a member in the Palestinian legislative council.

Previous Stories:
  Commissioner on Human Rights Submits Status report on planned mission to Middle East   (4/16/2002)
  Arabs group for probes into Israeli abuses   (4/16/2002)
  UN rights body condemns Israel for 'mass killings'   (4/16/2002)
  European leader: Israel is a terrorist state   (4/13/2002)

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