Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated last night, in an address to the Teachers Union, that Israel is willing to grant the Palestinians an independent state. “Neither the Turks nor the British nor the Jordanians nor the Egyptians” offered to create a Palestinian State, said the Prime Minister. Israel is willing to do so, he said, if the Palestinians prove that they can enforce peace in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Sharon said that PLO leader Yasser Arafat has made a serious effort to reduce the warfare: “He even went to Rafiach to bring quiet to that area - something he has never done before.”
The Yesha Council reacted to the Prime Minister’s comments by saying that \"only a blind and callous leader\" would offer the Palestinians an independent state, \"as the territory already in their control has become a hotbed of terrorism and a base for suicide bombers.\" Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze’evi stated that the proposal is in contradiction to the coalition agreement, and that such a radical proposal was never brought to the ministerial cabinet for approval.
The Yesha Council reacted to the Prime Minister’s comments by saying that \"only a blind and callous leader\" would offer the Palestinians an independent state, \"as the territory already in their control has become a hotbed of terrorism and a base for suicide bombers.\" Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze’evi stated that the proposal is in contradiction to the coalition agreement, and that such a radical proposal was never brought to the ministerial cabinet for approval.