Yasser Arafat has expressed his public thanks to U.S. President George Bush for reiterating last night his recent support for a Palestinian state that would recognize Israel\'s right to exist in security. Bush also said that the world should applaud Arafat for the \"firm manner in which he dispersed the pro-Bin Laden demonstrations in Gaza.\" The US provided the Palestinian Authority with helmets and batons to be used in dispersing demonstrations. Israel had turned down a similar PA request for riot control gear.
Prime Minister Sharon\'s office has not responded to Bush\'s latter comments, but said that Israel would be willing to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state in the framework of a process leading to a permanent arrangement after the violence ceases. The officials said that the Prime Minister is unaware of any new American peace plan initiative, recently reported on by the Boston Globe.
Former Israeli liaison to the U.S. Congress Yoram Ettinger made a succinct case this week showing that the formation of a Palestinian state would not be in the best American interest. \"The PLO\'s track record,\" he writes, \"suggests that a PLO state would have bolstered Saddam [ever] since 1990; aligned itself with Iran; doomed Jordan during the 1970 Syrian invasion; threatened Kuwait and other Persian Gulf Sheikhdoms; become the prime training ground for international terrorists; provided Russia and China with another Mideast platform; been the most corrupt and oppressive regime in the region; and utilized its initial territory as a springboard to establish a narco-terrorist state from Iraq to the Mediterranean.\"
Prime Minister Sharon told Foreign Minister Shimon Peres last night that he would not be allowed to meet in the near future with Arafat, explaining that every meeting between the two leads to an escalation in terrorism against Israelis.
The latest Dry Bones cartoon, by Kirschen, features a political leader on an unseen TV saying, \"These terrorists will be punished! We will bomb them out of existence!\" A bystander then asks, \"Who\'s that on TV? Bush, the brave protector of the free world, or Sharon, the insolent and aggressive Israeli leader?\"
Prime Minister Sharon\'s office has not responded to Bush\'s latter comments, but said that Israel would be willing to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state in the framework of a process leading to a permanent arrangement after the violence ceases. The officials said that the Prime Minister is unaware of any new American peace plan initiative, recently reported on by the Boston Globe.
Former Israeli liaison to the U.S. Congress Yoram Ettinger made a succinct case this week showing that the formation of a Palestinian state would not be in the best American interest. \"The PLO\'s track record,\" he writes, \"suggests that a PLO state would have bolstered Saddam [ever] since 1990; aligned itself with Iran; doomed Jordan during the 1970 Syrian invasion; threatened Kuwait and other Persian Gulf Sheikhdoms; become the prime training ground for international terrorists; provided Russia and China with another Mideast platform; been the most corrupt and oppressive regime in the region; and utilized its initial territory as a springboard to establish a narco-terrorist state from Iraq to the Mediterranean.\"
Prime Minister Sharon told Foreign Minister Shimon Peres last night that he would not be allowed to meet in the near future with Arafat, explaining that every meeting between the two leads to an escalation in terrorism against Israelis.
The latest Dry Bones cartoon, by Kirschen, features a political leader on an unseen TV saying, \"These terrorists will be punished! We will bomb them out of existence!\" A bystander then asks, \"Who\'s that on TV? Bush, the brave protector of the free world, or Sharon, the insolent and aggressive Israeli leader?\"