Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met yesterday in Jerusalem with PA senior officials Saeb Erekat and Abu Ala in an atmosphere described as \"tense and difficult.\" The two sides blamed each other for violating the ceasefire, and no agreements were reached. The Palestinians did agree, however, to Peres\' request for another meeting.
Peres, who recently criticized the IDF for trying to undermine the ceasefire, has been taken to task even by many on the left for his remarks. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer released a statement to the effect that there \"is no place for remarks by political leaders against IDF officers,\" and that they \"detract from the strength of the IDF at a time when it is in the midst of an intensive fight against terrorism.\" Columnist Uzi Benziman, writing in Ha\'aretz yesterday, praised Peres for \"fulfilling a thankless role [of] trying to push the government into talks with the Palestinians,\" but then noted,
\"As impressive as Peres\' adherence to the path of peace may be, he is in danger of falling prey to getting carried away with the concept and his heartfelt desires. From the outset, [he] has been suspected of being primarily concerned with saving his honor, and the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize he received; and this is the light in which his actions should be understood.
\"In other words, he is seen by his critics... as a selfish politician who is striving, first and foremost, to rehabilitate his prestige. This suspicion is reinforced when Peres attacks the IDF and accuses it of foreign considerations and conducting an independent policy in opposition to the spirit of government decisions.
\"The decisive fact is that the IDF, and Military Intelligence in particular, correctly predicted the developments in the Palestinian Authority and its intentions, and then translated its diagnosis into a reasonable operational language. This fact is lost on the initiator of the Oslo idea: he repeatedly argues that process that began in September 1993 is threatening to drown not because of an inherent flaw, but due to the mistakes made in its implementation - particularly during the periods of the Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak governments...
\"Claims of this kind expose Peres to a predictable beating: in a competition between his credibility and that of Military Intelligence and the General Staff, the foreign minister will emerge with his tail between his legs...\"
Peres, who recently criticized the IDF for trying to undermine the ceasefire, has been taken to task even by many on the left for his remarks. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer released a statement to the effect that there \"is no place for remarks by political leaders against IDF officers,\" and that they \"detract from the strength of the IDF at a time when it is in the midst of an intensive fight against terrorism.\" Columnist Uzi Benziman, writing in Ha\'aretz yesterday, praised Peres for \"fulfilling a thankless role [of] trying to push the government into talks with the Palestinians,\" but then noted,
\"As impressive as Peres\' adherence to the path of peace may be, he is in danger of falling prey to getting carried away with the concept and his heartfelt desires. From the outset, [he] has been suspected of being primarily concerned with saving his honor, and the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize he received; and this is the light in which his actions should be understood.
\"In other words, he is seen by his critics... as a selfish politician who is striving, first and foremost, to rehabilitate his prestige. This suspicion is reinforced when Peres attacks the IDF and accuses it of foreign considerations and conducting an independent policy in opposition to the spirit of government decisions.
\"The decisive fact is that the IDF, and Military Intelligence in particular, correctly predicted the developments in the Palestinian Authority and its intentions, and then translated its diagnosis into a reasonable operational language. This fact is lost on the initiator of the Oslo idea: he repeatedly argues that process that began in September 1993 is threatening to drown not because of an inherent flaw, but due to the mistakes made in its implementation - particularly during the periods of the Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak governments...
\"Claims of this kind expose Peres to a predictable beating: in a competition between his credibility and that of Military Intelligence and the General Staff, the foreign minister will emerge with his tail between his legs...\"