U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called both Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Sharon last night, demanding that they resume security talks immediately. The Israeli leader told Powell that in the preceding 48 hours there had been 31 terror attacks in which four Israeli civilians were wounded; one of them is in critical condition, and another is a 3-year-old boy. By tonight, Sharon was able to tell British Prime Minister Blair that there had been 49 terrorist incidents in the past three days. \"Arafat continues to give the green light to terrorism, is not arresting terrorists and has taken no preventative actions to foil attacks,\" Sharon told Powell.
Despite his explanations, the Prime Minister allowed security consultations to be held this morning and tonight. Foreign Minister Peres said afterwards that Arafat had taken some \"modest steps\" towards stopping terrorism, while the PA\'s Abu Ala said that the consultations had not produced any genuine results. Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane asked Housing Minister Natan Sharansky, a member of the security mini-cabinet, about these talks: \"They seem to indicate that the government is still counting on the PA to fight terrorism, despite the decision that Arafat is irrelevant...?\" Sharansky responded,
\"I greatly regret if someone still has these illusions that Arafat could be our partner; it could even be dangerous because we are strengthening his international image - a mistake that we have made in the past. On the other hand, it doesn\'t mean that we can\'t have contact with some of Arafat\'s underlings in the field…\"
Sharansky also related to the complexities of the national unity government:
\"We have to both fight terrorism with no compromise, and also maintain unity and consensus in the country. A narrow government would have a much harder time carrying out the military activities that have been taken until now, because of international pressure, internal pressure, and the like. At the same time, the unity government cannot be allowed to exist at any price; our decision to declare Arafat irrelevant was very important, but if we continue to treat him as if he is both irrelevant and relevant - i.e., we fight [his] terrorism and also treat him as a peace partner, I don\'t think this government will have a future.\"
Despite his explanations, the Prime Minister allowed security consultations to be held this morning and tonight. Foreign Minister Peres said afterwards that Arafat had taken some \"modest steps\" towards stopping terrorism, while the PA\'s Abu Ala said that the consultations had not produced any genuine results. Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane asked Housing Minister Natan Sharansky, a member of the security mini-cabinet, about these talks: \"They seem to indicate that the government is still counting on the PA to fight terrorism, despite the decision that Arafat is irrelevant...?\" Sharansky responded,
\"I greatly regret if someone still has these illusions that Arafat could be our partner; it could even be dangerous because we are strengthening his international image - a mistake that we have made in the past. On the other hand, it doesn\'t mean that we can\'t have contact with some of Arafat\'s underlings in the field…\"
Sharansky also related to the complexities of the national unity government:
\"We have to both fight terrorism with no compromise, and also maintain unity and consensus in the country. A narrow government would have a much harder time carrying out the military activities that have been taken until now, because of international pressure, internal pressure, and the like. At the same time, the unity government cannot be allowed to exist at any price; our decision to declare Arafat irrelevant was very important, but if we continue to treat him as if he is both irrelevant and relevant - i.e., we fight [his] terrorism and also treat him as a peace partner, I don\'t think this government will have a future.\"