The meeting between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat in Cairo yesterday continues to make waves within the national unity government. Prime Minister Sharon defended it by saying that it was never certain that the meeting would be held, and that it did not deal with diplomatic issues. Likud government ministers such as Limor Livnat dismissed both assertions out of hand: \"Every intelligent purpose knew, as early as Thursday and certainly by the time Peres left for Cairo, that he would meet with Arafat… I call upon the Prime Minister to put a stop to Peres\' efforts and not allow him to continue meeting with Arafat.\" Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin, speaking with Arutz-7 today, also said, \"I can\'t deny that my heart is heavy… I suspect that Arafat is laughing at us, saying that he can even outsmart Sharon by using terrorism and still talk with us. This is very worrisome, and we are broadcasting a harmful double message - we tell the world, and we told our own public, that Arafat is an arch-terrorist, and then we meet with him…\" Ministers Ze\'evi and Landau made similar objections.
Peres admitted this morning that the issue of the Arab \"refugees\" (up to 3.7 million people, of whom more than 95% are the children and grandchildren of those who actually left Israel in 1948) was raised during his meetings in Cairo yesterday. He said, however, \"I didn\'t talk with Arafat about the refugees; it was Mubarak. There\'s a difference. Listen, in general, there\'s a difference between \'negotiations\' and a \'discussion…\'\" The proposal submitted by Peres was to stop talking about the \"Right of Return\" and instead use the term \"the problem of the refugees.\" On the way to Cairo, the Foreign Minister expressed his hope of creating a permanent channel of communications with Arafat - though Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane noted that since Peres is not the Defense Minister, it is hard to assume that they would be discussing security matters.
Peres and Prime Minister Sharon agreed that his meetings with Arafat would continue. Sharon and Peres met with the Likud Knesset faction this afternoon and deliver a diplomatic/security report. Before the meeting, Sharon emphasized that the principle of \"no negotiations under fire\" is still valid. Likud MK Yisrael Katz objected to Peres\' presence, calling him a \"serial diplomatic pyromaniac.\"
Peres admitted this morning that the issue of the Arab \"refugees\" (up to 3.7 million people, of whom more than 95% are the children and grandchildren of those who actually left Israel in 1948) was raised during his meetings in Cairo yesterday. He said, however, \"I didn\'t talk with Arafat about the refugees; it was Mubarak. There\'s a difference. Listen, in general, there\'s a difference between \'negotiations\' and a \'discussion…\'\" The proposal submitted by Peres was to stop talking about the \"Right of Return\" and instead use the term \"the problem of the refugees.\" On the way to Cairo, the Foreign Minister expressed his hope of creating a permanent channel of communications with Arafat - though Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane noted that since Peres is not the Defense Minister, it is hard to assume that they would be discussing security matters.
Peres and Prime Minister Sharon agreed that his meetings with Arafat would continue. Sharon and Peres met with the Likud Knesset faction this afternoon and deliver a diplomatic/security report. Before the meeting, Sharon emphasized that the principle of \"no negotiations under fire\" is still valid. Likud MK Yisrael Katz objected to Peres\' presence, calling him a \"serial diplomatic pyromaniac.\"