Arafat Rebuffs Powell's Demands
By BARRY SCHWEID
.c The Associated Press
RAMALLAH, West Bank (April 14) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rebuffed Secretary of State Colin Powell's demand Sunday for a halt to violence, saying Israel first must withdraw its troops from the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is resisting Powell's mission to gain a cease-fire and resumption of peace talks, as well, in the Bush administration's deepest plunge into Mideast diplomacy.
Arafat, 72, appeared in good health as he met with Powell in his rocket-scarred headquarters that is surrounded by Israeli tanks and troops. Arafat has been under pressure that is ``unreal for an old man like him,'' said Zeid Abu Shawish, a Palestinian doctor in the compound.
Powell was driven to the besieged compound in a motorcade of armored-plated SUVs, shielded by U.S. security personnel with submachine guns.
The headquarters showed the effects of Israeli bombardment. A gaping hole marred the facade and the walls were blackened with bullet marks.
A senior aide, Saeb Erekat, said Arafat stood by his commitments, including an end to violence. But, Erekat said after the three-hour meeting, that meant ``once the Israelis complete the withdrawal we will, as Palestinians, then carry out our obligations.''
Arafat complained bitterly and extensively to Powell about Israel's military thrust into Palestinian-held towns and villages, and especially its actions in Jenin and a refugee camp in the town.
President Bush has demanded a pullback right away, but Sharon refused to provide a timetable when he saw Powell on Friday in Jerusalem. They were meeting again Sunday night in Tel Aviv.
Powell, in a brief statement to reporters, called his meeting with Arafat useful and constructive.
A senior U.S. official said Powell's ``clear message'' to Arafat in a 45-minute presentation was ``the bombings have to stop, that it was a major barrier'' to progress toward a security agreement or on negotiations that Powell has said should lead to establishment of a Palestinian state.
Powell and Arafat directed top aides to meet Monday on ``a variety of ideas.'' He provided no details.
Arafat saw Powell to the door, and they shook hands, but Arafat did not emerge. ``Arafat did not come out for security reasons,'' Erekat said.
Gesturing to the building next door, where Israeli soldiers peered out of half-open windows, Erekat said, ``You see the Israeli snipers all around. We are not going to take that risk.''
But the senior U.S. official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said ``they did not complain about the personal situation.''
Palestinian Parliament Speaker Ahmed Quriea, who attended the meeting around a second-floor dining room table, told The Associated Press: ``We told Secretary Powell that we shall not discuss any subject before Israel pulls out'' from towns and villages occupied since March 29.
``We told him that it's time to speak about a Palestinian state along the lines'' that existed before Israel occupied land seized during the 1967 Mideast war, the Palestinian official said.
He said Arafat and Powell were expected to meet again Tuesday.
A foreign policy adviser to Sharon said Israel has ``already made substantial progress in heeding to the president's request, and we pulled out of substantial areas.''
``On the other hand, we have not seen any movement from the Palestinians in what they were requested to do,'' including accepting a meaningful cease-fire and cooperating on security, Danny Ayalon said on ABC's ``This Week.''
Powell was expected to talk to officials in Lebanon and Syria on Monday about Hezbollah attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon.
Powell has urged Syria and Lebanon to curb the guerrillas, and asked intermediaries to appeal to Iran, which arms the group the State Department considers a terrorist organization.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov volunteered to intercede, as well, when he saw Powell in Spain on Wednesday.
Initially, Powell was expected to fly home Tuesday, but preparations are under way for a longer stay in the region.
The White House kept close tabs on the situation. Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card, said he spoke Sunday with Bush, who was at Camp David, as well as with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, traveling with Powell.
U.S. officials want Arafat to use the ``bully pulpit of his leadership as required and called upon by our president to bring clearly home to his people that violence to accomplish political end is not going to be effective,'' Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in Washington.
As for what the Israelis must do, Armitage said the administration wants more withdrawals, but is not setting a deadline.
Rice said Israelis and Palestinians should focus on steps each side must take to reach a cease-fire instead of criticizing one another.
``The key here is to have the parties concentrate on what they have to do, not what the other side has to do,'' Rice said on NBC's ``Meet the Press.''
White House officials put pressure on Arafat to act and did not repeat calls for a swift Israeli pullout. ``He needs to use whatever authority he has to end the calls for suicide bombers,'' Rice said.
04/14/02 13:22 EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. |
