Prime Minister Sharon, speaking to his Cabinet ministers this morning, summarized his Friday meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. He said he told Powell that Israel is willing to withdraw from any area the P.A. chooses, and entrust it with controlling security - on condition that it truly acts to thwart terrorism.
"A cease-fire can only be a short and quick part of a comprehensive process," Sharon said, "but not a substitute for a real war on terrorism, including the dismantling of organizations, the confiscation of illegal weapons to be given to a third party, and a total stop to incitement." The Prime Minister said that he emphasized to Powell the matter of incitement, and that it must be stopped immediately, regardless of the lack of progress in other areas.
The Prime Minister said that if the PA assumes responsibility, but takes no action, Israel will act - as it will in the case of "ticking time bombs (imminent attacks)." He said, "Of course there will be supervision over us, but we made it clear that this is what we would do."
Sharon also related to the dismantling of Yesha outposts: "It's not related to the diplomatic process. We took upon ourselves an obligation, and we must keep our word, especially towards the U.S. - even if nothing happens on the Palestinian side."
The PA is still not prepared to assume security control over northern Gaza - although it said that one reason was Israel's insistence on maintaining security guards and checkpoints along a main Gaza highway connecting Jewish communities. The main reason, however, appears to be that the P.A. is simply not prepared to guarantee that there will be no terrorism by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, and would rather continue trying to negotiate a "cease-fire" with them - instead of dismantling them. One PA official said that the PA needs at least "an additional four weeks before deploying policemen in the areas which the Israelis plan to leave."