The Hindu : Arafat statement aimed at pleasing U.S.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 23, 2002

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Arafat statement aimed at pleasing U.S.

By Kesava Menon

Manama (Bahrain) June 22. The Palestinian Authority President, Yasser Arafat, surely timed his announcement about his willingness to accept the former U.S. President, Bill Clinton's proposals as the basis for West Asian negotiations, with the anticipated speech by the U.S. President, George W. Bush, in mind. But, as clarified by U.S. spokesmen, this announcement alone will not be sufficient to make Mr. Bush lean heavily on the Israelis. The U.S. will be waiting to see what action Mr. Arafat takes against the "machinery of terrorism'' that Israel has always talked about and in regard to which it has now produced substantive information.

In telling Ha'aretz in an exclusive interview published on Friday that he was willing to accept Mr. Clinton's proposals as the basis for future negotiations with Israel, Mr. Arafat has, for the first time, personally indicated that he is now ready to look at the Taba documents. Both sides had come to near-agreement at the talks held in Taba in January 2001 on almost all contentious issues. But ratification of those documents was contingent on the results of Israel's Prime Ministerial elections which took place shortly afterwards.

With the government of the then Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, falling after he lost the elections, the Taba documents were put into cold storage. In his interview, Mr. Arafat spoke of his willingness to allow for certain adjustments of the 1967 borders and indicated that he had substantially diluted the Palestinian demand that refugees be allowed to return to territory that is now Israel.

He also said that he would accept Israel's sovereignty over the Western Wall and of the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. This kind of talk, and especially its substance, might have pleased Israel when the Taba talks had concluded but it is doubtful that they will soothe Israel, especially its Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, now.

Mr. Arafat might not be overly concerned whether his sentiments please Israel or not. What he is concerned about is whether they will please the U.S. administration. Indications from Washington are that it will, but not sufficiently to divert the administration from its insistence that Mr. Arafat do more to control militancy.

In a story in Ha'aretz's magazine section, Israel's Defence Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, threw light on the mechanisms of suicide bombings. In a very creative move, Mr. Ben-Eliezer visited and talked to two young Palestinians who had intended to carry out suicide bombing missions but had instead landed in Israeli jails.

One of them had failed to carry out his mission on three occasions for different reasons and had been picked up by Israeli intelligence.

The other, a young woman, had decided not to carry out her mission at the last moment and had been tracked down later by the Israelis.

Mr. Ben-Eliezer spoke to Ha'aretz about the impressions he had formed after speaking to the two.

He did acknowledge that Israel's military operations and occupation of Palestinian territory bred hatred, despair and frustration. He also acknowledged that this despair was the incubator of terrorist violence.

But, he also noted very significantly that there is a whole network of terror operators on the lookout for potential suicide volunteers.

Mr. Ben-Eliezer said he has other information that backs up his impression that this network operators suck potential volunteers into its clutches and put young men and women on a "conveyor belt'' towards a mission at such speed that these youngsters are unable to re-think their options.

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Arafat statement aimed at pleasing U.S.