Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane spoke today with Zalman Shoval, advisor to Prime Minister Sharon and former Israeli Ambassador to US, who said:
\"Those who spoke of an unprecedented disagreement last night between Sharon and Bush, exaggerated. It\'s clear that the Americans have a different approach than we do regarding a total ceasefire, 100% efforts [on the part of the PA to stop terrorism], etc. Our officials have not glossed over these differences, but we must keep the proper proportions: In the past, there were much greater differences between Israeli Prime Ministers and American presidents… It\'s surprising that the current administration has adopted [former US Secretary of State] Albright\'s phrase of \'100% efforts\' by the PA, but in any event we know that there have not been such efforts - since the Americans now agree that Arafat is in total charge, such that 100% effort would mean at least 90% success in stopping the violence…\"
Shoval said that the Americans have not already demanded a settlement freeze in Yesha, \"and I believe that Foreign Minister Peres erred when he said that the freeze is already in effect. Bush himself said that this is a step-by-step process, and [Secretary of State] Powell, too, has said that first comes security, then peace - not like our left-wingers at home who say that peace IS security.\"
Housing Minister Natan Sharansky also spoke with Arutz-7 today about the reports of an American-Israeli fissure last night:
\"The reporters in Israel sought to find drama and even tragedy, but I don\'t think that there were any major disagreements between Bush and Sharon. But even if there were, I would like to emphasize that as long as we remain firm in our stances, the Americans will accept our opinion. We know what\'s good for us better than they do... We have a nice and friendly relationship with the Americans. The only time that there could be a problem is when they think that we are going to give in and then we don\'t give in, or when we say that we will not give in and then we do give in, leading to situations such as when Dennis Ross said that Israel has no red lines, only pink ones... If we feel that we cannot give in on even one clause in the Tenet Agreement because it is dangerous, then we must remain firm on this and not worry [that it might upset the Americans]…\"
\"Those who spoke of an unprecedented disagreement last night between Sharon and Bush, exaggerated. It\'s clear that the Americans have a different approach than we do regarding a total ceasefire, 100% efforts [on the part of the PA to stop terrorism], etc. Our officials have not glossed over these differences, but we must keep the proper proportions: In the past, there were much greater differences between Israeli Prime Ministers and American presidents… It\'s surprising that the current administration has adopted [former US Secretary of State] Albright\'s phrase of \'100% efforts\' by the PA, but in any event we know that there have not been such efforts - since the Americans now agree that Arafat is in total charge, such that 100% effort would mean at least 90% success in stopping the violence…\"
Shoval said that the Americans have not already demanded a settlement freeze in Yesha, \"and I believe that Foreign Minister Peres erred when he said that the freeze is already in effect. Bush himself said that this is a step-by-step process, and [Secretary of State] Powell, too, has said that first comes security, then peace - not like our left-wingers at home who say that peace IS security.\"
Housing Minister Natan Sharansky also spoke with Arutz-7 today about the reports of an American-Israeli fissure last night:
\"The reporters in Israel sought to find drama and even tragedy, but I don\'t think that there were any major disagreements between Bush and Sharon. But even if there were, I would like to emphasize that as long as we remain firm in our stances, the Americans will accept our opinion. We know what\'s good for us better than they do... We have a nice and friendly relationship with the Americans. The only time that there could be a problem is when they think that we are going to give in and then we don\'t give in, or when we say that we will not give in and then we do give in, leading to situations such as when Dennis Ross said that Israel has no red lines, only pink ones... If we feel that we cannot give in on even one clause in the Tenet Agreement because it is dangerous, then we must remain firm on this and not worry [that it might upset the Americans]…\"