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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Machaon who wrote (4354)	5/15/2002 12:34:43 PM
From: Scoobah	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

IDF Commander: Arafat, PA still in control of territories By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent GOC of the IDF's central command, Yitzhak Eitan, said Wednesday afternoon that the Palestinian Authority was still functioning and was in control of the West Bank despite Israel's Operation Defensive Shield. Eitan told reporters that "throughout the territories... {PA Chairman Yasser] Arafat's orders are adhered to." Eitan added that "this was proved during the negotiations over the standoff at the Church of the Nativity where an agreement was only reached with Arafat's approval." Eitan also said that since Defensive Shield drew to an end three weeks ago, 20 Palestinians have been arrested on their way to carry out suicide attacks inside Israel. Despite this belief that the Arafat is still in control of the territories, IDF sources said Tuesday that criticism of Arafat by Palestinians is now far harsher than it has ever been since the PA was established in 1994. Nevertheless, they said, this criticism does not appear to pose a serious threat to Arafat's rule. The sources noted that the criticism, which they attributed to the effects of Defensive Shield, is now more open than ever before, and can even be heard at the highest levels of the PA. In addition, it is coming from several different directions: The Islamic movements object to Arafat's call for a temporary halt to suicide bombings; various political organizations denounced his consent to the imprisonment of the murderers of former minister Rehavam Ze'evi and to the deportation of gunmen holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity; and the general public holds him responsible for large scale destruction caused by Defensive Shield in the West Bank. Arafat's tour of several West Bank cities on Monday was a failure, the sources said, with only a few hundred people turning out to great him. In the Jenin refugee camp, Hamas and Fatah activists threatened not to let the city's governor enter the camp during Arafat's planned visit, on the grounds that he had fled to Jordan during the IDF assault. As a result, Arafat canceled the visit.

To: Machaon who wrote (4354)	5/15/2002 12:52:31 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Saudi prince: US will be hurt failed Mideast peace efforts (this guy thinks he rules the world) By ASSOCIATED PRESS DUBAI, United Arab Emirates If Mideast peace efforts fail, the United States will not be left unscathed by the "dangerous result," a Saudi prince said today. "If things deteriorate to pleasantries and the Palestinian issue is handled by slow-working committees, peace will be shaken and replaced by more rejection and violence, and at that time, the losses will be proportionate to the size of every side, and certainly America will have a share of the dangerous result," said Prince Sultan bin Turki, a nephew of Saudi King Fahd. Crown Prince Abdullah's recent visit to the United States helped ease tension in the Palestinian areas, lifting the siege off Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and bringing an end to the standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Sultan told The Associated Press. "What he (Abdullah) achieved was beyond any other Arab leader and even European leaders. He went with a realistic vision of peace and his efforts paid off," said Sultan, who is close to Abdullah. On Tuesday, Abdullah was quoted by the Saudi daily Okaz as saying he was hesitant to go to the United States, "but I decided to go to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people regardless of the price." The de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom met George W. Bush at the US president's Texas ranch April 25. "President Bush told me 'I know that the Saudi people hate me,' and I told him all the world's people hate you, and he said 'You might be right,'" Abdullah was quoted as saying. "I saw in the American President Bush a man with a pure moral character. He is honest, bold and has strong emotions, all good signs that he can achieve justice for the Palestinians," he said. Sultan said the crown prince also expressed concern to Bush about reports Washington was planning to strike Iraq. "Abdullah imposed himself as a strong man when he met Bush. He didn't go asking for loans or grants. He went as a leader looking for peace and earned the respect of others. He spoke about the tension of the region and warned against the risks involved and the interests at stake," he said. Sultan said Abdullah's argument in the United States was based on the fact that "to achieve security, peace must be recognized as a launching pad and a result and dealing with the issue halfheartedly will lead to a catastrophe. A sane person understands that a peace with compromises is better than a war that will achieve a temporary victory." Sultan declined to comment on details of the kingdom's efforts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace since the Bush meeting.