Foreign Minister Shimon Peres left late last night for the U.S., but not before being briefed on the extent of the IDF offensives. He was not happy with what we heard, and said that he hoped that there would be \"something left here\" when he returned. Earlier he explained on a television talk show that if Israel crumbles the Palestinian Authority, \"there will be a bloodbath in the territories.\" Peres will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other officials. Sharon staffers said they hoped his message there would not conflict with the government line. At one point during today\'s Cabinet session, Sharon noted that the Peres-Arafat meetings brought terrorist attacks in their wake.
Peres staffers accused Prime Minister Sharon of \"tricking\" the Foreign Minister, but Sharon denied this, saying that the army\'s offensives in the PA areas were merely the implementation of the security cabinet\'s Wednesday night decisions against terrorism. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer also said privately that he does not understand Peres. \"The government does not have to approve every single tank or personnel carrier that enters Area A,\" Ben-Eliezer said. Even Minister Dalia Itzik, who generally comes to Peres\' defense, said that the Prime Minister had convinced her that there was no deviation from the government decisions. \"Sharon read off the decisions that were made last week, and asked if any minister could point out any discrepancies between them and the IDF actions,\" Itzik said, \"and not one minister raised his hand. If they now come and tell journalists that there were such deviations, they are not worthy of being ministers.\" Itzik did say, however, that it was likely that Labor would leave the coalition within three months.
Peres staffers accused Prime Minister Sharon of \"tricking\" the Foreign Minister, but Sharon denied this, saying that the army\'s offensives in the PA areas were merely the implementation of the security cabinet\'s Wednesday night decisions against terrorism. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer also said privately that he does not understand Peres. \"The government does not have to approve every single tank or personnel carrier that enters Area A,\" Ben-Eliezer said. Even Minister Dalia Itzik, who generally comes to Peres\' defense, said that the Prime Minister had convinced her that there was no deviation from the government decisions. \"Sharon read off the decisions that were made last week, and asked if any minister could point out any discrepancies between them and the IDF actions,\" Itzik said, \"and not one minister raised his hand. If they now come and tell journalists that there were such deviations, they are not worthy of being ministers.\" Itzik did say, however, that it was likely that Labor would leave the coalition within three months.