Labor Party Knesset faction head MK Effie Oshaya was not pleased with the proposal. \"MK Ariel pulled off a first-class parliamentary trick,\" he told Arutz-7 today, \"by getting this issue into the public discourse even though he knew it wouldn\'t pass... Peres didn\'t get angry at Ariel or at the proposal, but rather at the Likud, which did not take a stand against it.\"
Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane asked him, \"Why are you against an investigation into what led up to the Oslo Accords?\"
Oshaya: Because we think that other things should be investigated, such as who approved the settlements? Why were illegal outposts built and not evacuated? Why are bypass roads built and not used? Who is paying for the settlements? Why were the development towns neglected?…
Arutz-7: These are good questions, but many of them should be asked of the Labor party leaders [who were in power when many settlements were built, and approved them] as Uri Ariel said.
Oshaya: I\'m trying to answer you. We have many questions on which we do not agree with the [Likud]. Uri Ariel did his job; he\'s in the opposition now, and we know that a few weeks ago when he was in the government, he did not raise these issues. We are in a national unity government, and we have important issues to deal with, and we don\'t want to deal with the past…
Arutz-7: It appears from the quick response of your party to Uri Ariel\'s proposal that he hit a raw nerve that caused you to jump; it appears that you have something to hide.
Oshaya: Peres didn\'t make a special trip. He was in the Knesset dining hall, and I suggested that he come to answer the charges, that\'s all. You don\'t have to make this into a big dramatic thing -
Arutz-7: Peres, and no one else, was the one who made it dramatic, by yelling and getting all riled up -
Oshaya: MK Ariel was the one who made the drama with a successful parliamentary trick, and Peres, with his great belief in the peace process, gave expression to this in his own style at the Knesset podium… We are upset at Sharon for not taking a clear stand. If he wants, let him say that he is in favor of an investigation, and we will draw the proper conclusions and that will be the end our partnership…
Arutz-7: I have to understand: If you\'re talking about belief in the peace process and \"the justice of truth,\" and the like, why are you so unwilling to have an investigation, and are even threatening to break up the coalition, over events that happened ten years ago?
Oshaya: Because we want to investigate other things. We want to investigate, for instance, why we signed on the Oslo process, and then Netanyahu, who said he would never meet with Arafat, begged the Americans to have Arafat meet with him, and pledge to carry out the Oslo process -
Arutz-7: MK Oshaya, you are purposely diverting us from the subject. I am asking you, if you have nothing to hide, why not investigate this specific topic.
Oshaya: I\'ll tell you. Because we want to investigate, for instance, why Netanyahu, who said that he would carry out Oslo, did everything he could to torpedo it. That\'s what we want to investigate. If there is to be an inquiry, it must look into everything, not just the steps that led up to [Oslo]. We say, let\'s investigate everything, from the beginning through the end… To talk about the weapons [that Rabin-Peres government allowed the PA to have], everyone knows that that\'s nothing; after all, they have much heavier weapons…
Arutz-7: I venture to say that MK Ariel would be willing to investigate that as well. MK Oshaya, thank you very much.
Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane asked him, \"Why are you against an investigation into what led up to the Oslo Accords?\"
Oshaya: Because we think that other things should be investigated, such as who approved the settlements? Why were illegal outposts built and not evacuated? Why are bypass roads built and not used? Who is paying for the settlements? Why were the development towns neglected?…
Arutz-7: These are good questions, but many of them should be asked of the Labor party leaders [who were in power when many settlements were built, and approved them] as Uri Ariel said.
Oshaya: I\'m trying to answer you. We have many questions on which we do not agree with the [Likud]. Uri Ariel did his job; he\'s in the opposition now, and we know that a few weeks ago when he was in the government, he did not raise these issues. We are in a national unity government, and we have important issues to deal with, and we don\'t want to deal with the past…
Arutz-7: It appears from the quick response of your party to Uri Ariel\'s proposal that he hit a raw nerve that caused you to jump; it appears that you have something to hide.
Oshaya: Peres didn\'t make a special trip. He was in the Knesset dining hall, and I suggested that he come to answer the charges, that\'s all. You don\'t have to make this into a big dramatic thing -
Arutz-7: Peres, and no one else, was the one who made it dramatic, by yelling and getting all riled up -
Oshaya: MK Ariel was the one who made the drama with a successful parliamentary trick, and Peres, with his great belief in the peace process, gave expression to this in his own style at the Knesset podium… We are upset at Sharon for not taking a clear stand. If he wants, let him say that he is in favor of an investigation, and we will draw the proper conclusions and that will be the end our partnership…
Arutz-7: I have to understand: If you\'re talking about belief in the peace process and \"the justice of truth,\" and the like, why are you so unwilling to have an investigation, and are even threatening to break up the coalition, over events that happened ten years ago?
Oshaya: Because we want to investigate other things. We want to investigate, for instance, why we signed on the Oslo process, and then Netanyahu, who said he would never meet with Arafat, begged the Americans to have Arafat meet with him, and pledge to carry out the Oslo process -
Arutz-7: MK Oshaya, you are purposely diverting us from the subject. I am asking you, if you have nothing to hide, why not investigate this specific topic.
Oshaya: I\'ll tell you. Because we want to investigate, for instance, why Netanyahu, who said that he would carry out Oslo, did everything he could to torpedo it. That\'s what we want to investigate. If there is to be an inquiry, it must look into everything, not just the steps that led up to [Oslo]. We say, let\'s investigate everything, from the beginning through the end… To talk about the weapons [that Rabin-Peres government allowed the PA to have], everyone knows that that\'s nothing; after all, they have much heavier weapons…
Arutz-7: I venture to say that MK Ariel would be willing to investigate that as well. MK Oshaya, thank you very much.