Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yet again today that Israel would conduct diplomatic negotiations only after the violence and terrorism have been completely halted. He said this to visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Jozias Van Aartsen, adding, “Arafat is wasting very precious time; terrorism and violence will yield him nothing.\" Sharon stressed that his primary obligation is to the security of Israel’s citizens: \"If the PA does not act to halt the violence, Israel will be obliged to do so without, however, intending to escalate the situation... We are suffering daily losses and there is no country which can tolerate this.\"
Regarding the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative - which Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa said yesterday has \"zero chances of developing into something\" - Prime Minister Sharon asserted that a testing period for the halting of violence is necessary.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, looking at the bright side of the Mitchell Report, said yesterday that it was \"fair and balanced.\" He noted the following positive points: It established that a settlement cannot be forced on the sides but must rather be agreed upon; it determined that the Palestinians must cease their violence; and established, for the first time in an international document, that the riots were not caused by Ariel Sharon\'s visit to the Temple Mount. Peres did not mention, however, that the Report recommends a settlement freeze in exchange for a stop to PA violence, and otherwise equates between the two; asks Israel to use only \"nonlethal force\" against Palestinian rock-and-firebomb throwers; and recommends a possible unilateral withdrawal from \"settlements that are focal points for substantial friction.\"
Regarding the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative - which Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa said yesterday has \"zero chances of developing into something\" - Prime Minister Sharon asserted that a testing period for the halting of violence is necessary.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, looking at the bright side of the Mitchell Report, said yesterday that it was \"fair and balanced.\" He noted the following positive points: It established that a settlement cannot be forced on the sides but must rather be agreed upon; it determined that the Palestinians must cease their violence; and established, for the first time in an international document, that the riots were not caused by Ariel Sharon\'s visit to the Temple Mount. Peres did not mention, however, that the Report recommends a settlement freeze in exchange for a stop to PA violence, and otherwise equates between the two; asks Israel to use only \"nonlethal force\" against Palestinian rock-and-firebomb throwers; and recommends a possible unilateral withdrawal from \"settlements that are focal points for substantial friction.\"