You believe that the Palestinians do not want Israel to exist. Now it seems that Israelis do not want a Palestinian State to exist. Sad to say the "no peaceful coexistence" feeling seems to be mutual. Would their mutual intransigence suggest that a nuclear dehumanization of one particular part of the Middle East is the way to go to rid the world of a "cancerous" situation?
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Sharon's party rejects a state for Palestinians
A defiant Likud party votes against PM's proposal, undermining both his political future and chances for Middle-East peace
TEL AVIV - Israel's right-wing Likud party voted to reject the creation of a Palestinian state, a major defeat for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
He feared it would increase international pressure on Israel and tie his hands in potential negotiations.
Mr Sharon tried to block the vote early yesterday morning, arguing that Palestinian statehood was not on the party central committee's agenda, and that a decision would only harm efforts to reach peace in the Middle East.
Both Israel and the Palestinians are considering a United States proposal for a conference to restart the peace process.
Mr Sharon asked the meeting to consider a resolution backing his government in its efforts for peace and security.
But at the end of a stormy meeting, 59 per cent of the 2,600 voting members endorsed a proposal by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Likud to come out definitively against a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said the vote showed that Israel's action against Palestinians was 'really their war to maintain occupation of the West Bank and Gaza'.
He added that the vote was 'a real slap in the face' for US President George W. Bush, who has spoken in favour of setting up a Palestinian state.
Although the central committee does not have the power to remove Mr Sharon from office, the vote showed his political weakness in his own camp.
The vote does not prevent Mr Sharon from pursuing negotiations that might lead to Palestinian statehood, but hampers his ability to manoeuvre and could limit his effectiveness.
It also provided an ominous sign for his future ahead of the next election, scheduled for November 2003, and boosted Mr Netanyahu's chances of making a sensational comeback.
The former Israeli leader said the vote demonstrated Likud's view that 'in the midst of a terror campaign run by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, they don't want to envision a terrorist state which would threaten the destruction of Israel'.
Mr Sharon said the vote damaged Israel's vital ties with the US.
During the meeting, Mr Sharon and Mr Netanyahu clashed openly, amid howls and boos from members.
Without naming Mr Sharon directly, Mr Netanyahu criticised the government for not having 'thrown out' Mr Arafat during last month's West Bank invasions.
Opposition to a Palestinian state has been Likud's traditional position, but Mr Sharon had said, in an unprecedented statement, that he would agree to its creation as part of a final peace agreement with the Palestinians.
A Bush administration official reiterated that the US leader's 'vision' for the region remained two states: 'an Israel and a Palestine, living together side by side'.
It was a view reiterated by Mr Arafat, who told CNN in an interview that he was prepared to accept an Israeli state side by side with a Palestinian state. --AP, AFP |
