Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal spoke today with Cabinet Secretary Gideon Sa\'ar, who will be accompanying Sharon to the U.S. \"What will Sharon tell Bush about his diplomatic plans?\" Segal asked.
Sa\'ar: \"Nothing different than what he has been saying since he took office, and which is acceptable to the Americans as well, namely, \'security first.\' No progress can be made until there is quiet.\"
A-7: \"There have been detailed accounts in the press about particular plans…\"
Sa\'ar: \"The Prime Minister declared clearly that all plans of this nature would be considered only when the time comes in the implementation of the Mitchell Plan and after it is discussed in the Israeli Cabinet.\"
A-7: \"He won\'t even discuss it informally with Bush? After all, Bush will certainly want to know Sharon\'s diplomatic plans?\"
Sa\'ar: \"Look, the Americans have an idea of what the Prime Minister sees for a long-term interim agreement in which Israel retains the security zones, Jerusalem, the settlements --
A-7: \"--*All* the settlements?\"
Sa\'ar: \"Uh, yes, uh, we are not, uh, talking about, uh, about settlements which, as is known, is a topic for the final-status agreement.
A-7: \"I remember Sharon saying clearly before the election that not one settlement would be evacuated, but since he took office, I don\'t recall him repeating that promise.\"
Sa\'ar: \"The entire subject of Yesha communities and their final status is a topic for the final-status talks. To our sorrow, we don\'t see that a final status is attainable in the foreseeable future…\"
A-7: \"The appointment of Gen. Dagan has aroused a dispute between Peres and Sharon. Peres says he is not sufficiently familiar with the diplomatic aspects. Why was it so important to Sharon to appoint Dagan to head the talks with Gen. Zinni?\"
Sa\'ar: \"The talks are dealing at first only with military aspects, and not with diplomatic issues. The American mediator himself, Zinni, is an army general, and the purpose is to reach a stable ceasefire. Dagan was a member of the Israeli delegation in Wye Plantation, and with him are diplomatic experts. I don\'t see what the problem is with this delegation. I\'m not talking now about the Foreign Minister, but we read attacks in the newspapers that the delegation is comprised of \"right-wing extremists\" - it\'s interesting that whenever they talk about the right wing, they add in the word \"extremist\" - but actually I have seen not even one quote from the members to prove this contention.
A-7: \"The government resolved at one point that every terrorist attack would be followed by a military response, yet I haven\'t seen a reaction to the two murderous attacks of this week in Afula and Gush Katif. Has the policy been changed?\"
Sa\'ar: \"It\'s changed only to the extent that our actions against terrorism have increased dramatically. Everyone can see our successes of recent weeks… Our reactions are not automatic, and each case is taken individually, but in general our proactive activity, which is concentrated on the terrorists and those who send them, has produced very significant results, thwarting more than 80% or more of the terrorist activity.\"
Sa\'ar also noted that the image of Arafat as a terrorist is becoming more and more entrenched in international public opinion. He noted \"an important statement made recently by Washington\'s National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice that they can\'t fight Al-Qaeda while at the same time embracing Hamas and Islamic Jihad.\"
Sa\'ar: \"Nothing different than what he has been saying since he took office, and which is acceptable to the Americans as well, namely, \'security first.\' No progress can be made until there is quiet.\"
A-7: \"There have been detailed accounts in the press about particular plans…\"
Sa\'ar: \"The Prime Minister declared clearly that all plans of this nature would be considered only when the time comes in the implementation of the Mitchell Plan and after it is discussed in the Israeli Cabinet.\"
A-7: \"He won\'t even discuss it informally with Bush? After all, Bush will certainly want to know Sharon\'s diplomatic plans?\"
Sa\'ar: \"Look, the Americans have an idea of what the Prime Minister sees for a long-term interim agreement in which Israel retains the security zones, Jerusalem, the settlements --
A-7: \"--*All* the settlements?\"
Sa\'ar: \"Uh, yes, uh, we are not, uh, talking about, uh, about settlements which, as is known, is a topic for the final-status agreement.
A-7: \"I remember Sharon saying clearly before the election that not one settlement would be evacuated, but since he took office, I don\'t recall him repeating that promise.\"
Sa\'ar: \"The entire subject of Yesha communities and their final status is a topic for the final-status talks. To our sorrow, we don\'t see that a final status is attainable in the foreseeable future…\"
A-7: \"The appointment of Gen. Dagan has aroused a dispute between Peres and Sharon. Peres says he is not sufficiently familiar with the diplomatic aspects. Why was it so important to Sharon to appoint Dagan to head the talks with Gen. Zinni?\"
Sa\'ar: \"The talks are dealing at first only with military aspects, and not with diplomatic issues. The American mediator himself, Zinni, is an army general, and the purpose is to reach a stable ceasefire. Dagan was a member of the Israeli delegation in Wye Plantation, and with him are diplomatic experts. I don\'t see what the problem is with this delegation. I\'m not talking now about the Foreign Minister, but we read attacks in the newspapers that the delegation is comprised of \"right-wing extremists\" - it\'s interesting that whenever they talk about the right wing, they add in the word \"extremist\" - but actually I have seen not even one quote from the members to prove this contention.
A-7: \"The government resolved at one point that every terrorist attack would be followed by a military response, yet I haven\'t seen a reaction to the two murderous attacks of this week in Afula and Gush Katif. Has the policy been changed?\"
Sa\'ar: \"It\'s changed only to the extent that our actions against terrorism have increased dramatically. Everyone can see our successes of recent weeks… Our reactions are not automatic, and each case is taken individually, but in general our proactive activity, which is concentrated on the terrorists and those who send them, has produced very significant results, thwarting more than 80% or more of the terrorist activity.\"
Sa\'ar also noted that the image of Arafat as a terrorist is becoming more and more entrenched in international public opinion. He noted \"an important statement made recently by Washington\'s National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice that they can\'t fight Al-Qaeda while at the same time embracing Hamas and Islamic Jihad.\"