Israel gets the word:
Won't fight in Iraq war
Friday, December 20, 2002
The Bush administration has told Israel that it will not participate in the U.S.-led war against Iraq.
Senior U.S. officials told Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz that the U.S. has decided that Israel will not be involved in the war against Iraq even if Iraq launches a missile attack against Israel.
"They [the U.S.] are willing to give us all the necessary aid," Mofaz said according to Middle East Newsline. "I think the State of Israel is better prepared than it was in the past . . . if Iraq will respond with a missile attack against the State of Israel."
On Thursday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that if the U.S. goes to war against Iraq, it will be a quick campaign.
"We are doing everything we can to avoid war," Powell said. "The President's made that clear. But if war comes, the only thing I would say about the nature of that conflict is that it will be done in a way that would minimize the loss of life, and it will be done to be accomplished in as swift a manner as possible."
On Friday, the quartet group of the United States, Russia, the EU and United Nations meets in Washington to discuss Israeli-PA war. But the U.S. has delayed the adoption of the roadmap proposal for a final settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The roadmap peace plan calls for Israel to commit "unequivocally" to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in 2005. The three-stage plan calls for firstly an "end to terror and violence" in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The second stage calls for "Palestinian institution-building" followed by a "transition" period leading to last stage of Palestinian "statehood."
"Because of the Israeli election, because of the number of issues that are before the Israeli public right now, we think it would be wiser in this instance for us to continue to work on the roadmap and wait until after the Israeli election is over," Powell said. "It's just a matter of weeks until that is resolved then we will engage with all the parties in the region with respect to a roadmap if we have complete agreement on the elements of the roadmap, at least within the quartet at that time."
In Gaza, PA officials criticized the Bush administration for failing to adopt the roadmap plan. The delay causes "a political vacuum in the region," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Thursday.
Overnight Friday, Palestinian sources said a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli troops after they surrounded the house of a leading Islamic Jihad member. The troops arrested 10 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members. Earlier, Palestinian sources said Israeli troops killed a 11-year-old Palestinian girl in the southern Gaza Strip when automatic gunfire strafed her house.
On Friday morning, Israeli security forces safely detonated a bomb placed in a shoe box near a busy mall in the coastal town of Netanya. Earlier, Mofaz said that Israeli troops will remain in Bethlehem over Christmas while allowing Christmas celebrations to continue.
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