US criticizes escalation of Palestinian - Israeli crisis
Palestine-Israel-USA, Politics, 11/17/1998

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media advisor said that Netanyahu welcomed statements by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that the Palestinian government is committed to progress toward a final status agreement and will not use violence or terrorism, as both the Israeli and Palestinian governments came in for criticism yesterday from the US State Department over statements pertaining to the Middle East peace process.

US State Department Spokesman James Rubin said yesterday that the US administration will make a direct contact with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat over Arafat's remarks last weekend on the possibility of resuming the Palestinian uprising against the Israelis.

"There is no place in this process for statements which call for or suggest violent actions. These remarks were wrong," Rubin stated.

However, Rubin also had cautions for the Israelis, saying, "With respect to Prime Minister Netanyahu's remarks that Israeli troop withdrawal will not begin unless and until Arafat issues a public retraction, let me say that the Wye Memorandum was signed without conditions. It is our expectation that both sides will implement the agreement as signed."

During the inauguration of the Israeli Knesset's session to discuss this agreement yesterday, Netanyahu said that Israel has no intention to withdraw from 13% of the West Bank according to the Wye agreement unless the Palestinians abandon the threat of using violence and arms against Israel.

Furthermore in response to Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon's call for settlers to grab what they can before second phase redeployment is carried out Rubin said, "It is absolutely essential that the right kind of environment be created for permanent status negotiations. Statements such as the one made by Foreign Minister Sharon undermine the trust and confidence necessary for such an environment, and we will be raising this statement with the Foreign Ministry directly."

However, Rubin called on both sides to live up to their responsibilities under the Wye accords and added that the US does not believe the agreement as off if each side makes mistakes. "We think we can help insure that there is smooth implementation. We understand there have been delays, but that doesn't mean that each side can't carry out its respective obligations which we expect the parties to do," he stated.

Netanyahu's media advisor added that the Israeli Cabinet will meet tomorrow to "discuss the remaining issues."

Previous Stories:
  Arafat asks Israelis to accept the idea of an independent Palestine   (11/16/1998)
  NGOs condemn Israeli blockade on Palestinians   (11/12/1998)
  Jerusalem market bombed, Israeli Cabinet's Wye talks stopped   (11/6/1998)

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