Major new initiative by Europe, led by Britain
Palestine-Israel, International, 3/6/1998

Palestinian official sources Friday welcomed a set of ideas presented by Britain to move the stalled peace process out of its present stalemate but said an official response from Palestine will only come after those ideas are formally presented in the form of a European peace initiative.

Israeli army radio reported Friday that British Foreign Office Secretary Robin Cook has announced a new European initiative designed to break the impasse in the peace process. According to Cook, the initiative features six confidence building measures between the Palestine and Israel. They include a significant Israeli withdrawal within the framework of the troop redeployment in the West Bank, the opening of the Gaza International Airport, the cessation of Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank, the start of the final status talks between the two sides and a firm Palestinian commitment to combat "terror." The British ideas also include an increase in the European Union's economic aid to the Palestinian government.

"Any effort that is meant to move Israel out of its current intransigence is welcomed," said a Palestinian observer in Ramallah, noting that Palestine has been asking not only Britain but all the European countries and Japan to exert pressure on the Israeli government and get the peace talks off the ground. He said that the ideas attributed to Secretary Cook "are an appropriate British response" to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who just two days ago claimed that Europe does not understand Israel's point of view.

After his meeting on Thursday with Spanish King Juan Carlos and leading officials in Spain, Netanyahu complained that the Europeans, unlike the Americans, don¹t understand Israel¹s point of view, but he remarked that more European involvement in the peace process could be desirable. In an interview with ³Al-Pais² newspaper, Netanyahu said Europeans know nothing about the Middle East. He added that the colonialist history of Europe has distorted its viewpoint concerning Middle East politics, stressing that ³only the US can understand us.²

Netanyahu reiterated his rejection of an independent Palestinian state, which, he said, ³will lead to chaos². Netanyahu claimed that he has invited Palestine President Yasser Arafat for a talk but Palestinian officials insist that no such invitation has been extended. Arafat's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said that Arafat never received such an invitation and added that "Netanyahu is trying to portray himself as a man of peace initiatives during his European tour while he knows that he is grilled by world leaders for his role in freezing the peace process."

During his talks in Spain, Netanyahu heard a Spanish proposal to hold a Madrid-style peace conference involving all the parties to the Arab Israeli conflict. Members of Netanyahu's entourage said that the US "was not very excited about the idea proposed by Europeans in favor of a second Madrid conference." The US, Palestinians believe, is worried of an effective European role in Mideast politics because it might contradict with its own intention to remain the sole political player in the region.

A US official, meanwhile, was quoted as saying that the United States is closer to the Israeli position than to the Palestinian and thus it is not clear why there has been such alarm caused in Israel by reports on an American initiative to resume the peace talks. Netanyahu's political adviser Uzi Arad, who arrived in Washington to discuss the issue of Russian assistance to Iran, heard the same statements, Israeli papers said Friday. Arad met with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright¹s adviser on the Middle East, Martin Indyk. Reports from Washington said there is a feeling of disappointment among US officials with both Netanyahu and Arafat and added that during meetings held by senior US officials over the past few days, the possibility of either President Bill Clinton or Madeleine Albright going public with the US proposals for the saving of the process was discussed.

Arafat's spokesman Abu Rudeineh had said earlier that the US Administration is set to go public with a peace initiative, as a way of pressuring Israel. He was referring to a plan according to which Israeli troops would withdraw from 13.1% of the West Bank lands, in several stages lasting three months. ³We call on Washington to release these proposals as soon as possible, since the region is simmering,² Abu Rudeineh said on Thursday.

Previous Stories:
  Foreign leaders to visit Palestine   (3/4/1998)
  Strike in Jerusalem: talks lead nowhere   (3/3/1998)
  Palestinian official: Clinton promissed to implement third phase   (3/3/1998)

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