Netanyahu, Albright stress security after meeting
Palestine, Politics, 9/10/1997

In her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was given a detailed list of allegations by Israel against the PNA. Those were presented as Israeli conditions, without which the continuation of the peace process is not going to be possible.

On top of the list is a demand that the Palestinians commit themselves to security cooperation with Israel without making any provisions. Israel demands that the PNA arrest and punish those involved in so-called terror and to dismiss those of them from the ranks of the PNA police, including police Chief Ghazi Jabali, confiscate illegal weapons, cease anti-Israel incitement in the various media and in the mosques, and punish those who incite. Moreover, Israel demands that the name be changed of a square in Jericho named after Yihya Ayyash, the Hamas military leader who was assassinated by Israeli agents in Gaza approximately one and a half years ago. He was described by Israel as the engineer, or the mastermind of a series of suicide bomb attacks in 1995 and 1996. Israeli demands also include decreasing the number of Palestinian policemen from 35,500 to 24,000 and that the PNA submit the list of policemen to Israel for approval. Israel also demands that the PNA extradite 33 persons suspected of "terror activity."

In their joint press conference appearance, Netanyahu called his meeting with Albright "productive." Focusing on security concerns, Netanyahu said, "My government is the only government which can succeed" in establishing peace with security. He stated that the PNA must "wage an unrelenting war agaist terrorism" and that "terrorism must not be used as an instrument of negotiation." He went to to say that the "Palestinian Authority can decide if it wants peace with Hamas or peace with Israel, but it cannot have both." Yet Netanyahu softened his harsh rehtoric by saying, "We are convinced we can achieve peace."

Albright reiterated earlier remarks from her office that there is a "crisis of confidence" between the two sides and security is at the center of her agenda. "There is no moral equivalence between killing people and building homes," she said, while asking Israel to refrain from unilateral actions that undermine confidence between the sides. "Unilateral actions are not helpful to peace, and Israel must shape an environment of trust" she said.

Previous Stories:
  Albright: lady in pink with determination of steel   (9/10/1997)
  Waiting for Albright   (9/9/1997)
  US state department says Palestinian security mechanism is working   (8/25/1997)

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