• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Palestinians, Israelis Hopeful for Peace

Posted on: Thursday, 13 November 2003, 06:00 CST

Both Palestinian and Israeli leaders talked about the need for peace as Yasser Arafat swore in the Cabinet he wanted, a move that ended two months of stalemate and could revive contacts over the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

The Palestinian parliament approved Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's new Cabinet on Wednesday by a vote of 48 to 13 with five abstentions. The posts had been empty since the first premier, Mahmoud Abbas, resigned on Sept. 6.

Qureia and Arafat, addressing parliament before the vote, blamed Israel for three years of violence, but both called for an end to the bloodshed.

Qureia said Israel and the Palestinians must implement the road map, which calls for a halt to violence and leads through three stages to Palestinian statehood in 2005. It requires the Palestinians to dismantle violent groups and the Israelis to halt settlement construction in the West Bank - steps neither has taken.

"We call on both sides to stop targeting civilians and work to bring about a mutual cease-fire with clear and agreed upon terms," Qureia said. "Let's help each other stop this cycle of hell."

Speaking to Canadian fund-raisers Wednesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon did not refer directly to the new Palestinian Cabinet, but he repeated his peace offer.

"We are prepared to make painful compromises for the sake of real peace," he said. Sharon ruled out compromises over security issues, but did not elaborate.

Arafat's presence as the power behind the Qureia government troubled both Israel and the United States. They had wanted Arafat to be sidelined and for Qureia to have full authority, but Arafat retained control.

Arafat appealed directly to the Israelis. "The time has come between us and you ... to get out of this cycle of destructive war," he said. "The last three years of this destructive war are enough."

Qureia had tried fruitlessly to form a Cabinet for a month, then ruled by a decree from Arafat for another month. He finally gave in to Arafat's demands for indirect control over the Palestinian security forces, which would be responsible for dismantling militant groups.

The Israelis did not write off prospects for working with the new Palestinian team, possibly reflecting impatience within Israel for the Sharon government's inability to restore calm.

"If the new Palestinian government is serious about pursuing peace and takes action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism, they will find Israel to be a real partner," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said.

Raanan Gissin, Sharon's spokesman, urged Qureia to help end militant attacks on Israelis and consolidate the security forces under one authority. "We're prepared to give Ahmed Qureia a grace period and judge him by the results," Gissin said.

One official said that while Israel cannot agree to an explicit amnesty for terrorists, it would be willing to be more flexible with Qureia and judge him primarily by any success in enforcing an end to the attacks.

On Wednesday, both the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups - which have staged more that 100 suicide bombings over the last three years - indicated they were considering Qureia's call to halt attacks.

Adnan Asfour, Hamas spokesman in the West Bank, said the group was "was ready to study any new hudna (cease-fire) offer." And Nafez Azzam, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip, said the group welcomes "any dialogue with our brothers in the Palestinian Authority" and that a truce depended on whether Israel stopped its "bloody aggression."

An Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that in exchange, Israel would be prepared to resume implementing the road map and ease its grip on the Palestinians - eliminating many roadblocks, withdrawing from occupied cities and allowing more Palestinian workers into Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said in Washington that defense officials would continue to evaluate the outposts along with Israel's security needs.

Mofaz met with Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday and told reporters afterward he conveyed Israel's commitment to President Bush's "vision" and to the road map.

In another development, a Palestinian was sent from the West Bank to Gaza by the military. Moshref Bethor arrived in Gaza early Thursday, Palestinians said, the second to be expelled this week.

Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was not among 18 who received expulsion orders; rather, he agreed to go to Gaza for two years instead of serving time in an Israeli prison. But Bethor told The Associated Press he had no idea he was being taken to Gaza. He said he thought he was being taken to a different detention facility for further questioning.

More News in this Category