Tuesday, August 06, 2002 Av 28, 5762
Mubarak: Sharon has no peace plan
By Ha'aretz Staff
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, meeting yesterday with Israeli reporters during a day-long visit to Cairo by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, lashed out with unprecedented criticism at PM Ariel Sharon.
"Sharon despises Arafat? So what?" said Mubarak. "Arafat doesn't like Sharon. And they both don't believe each other," he said. "So, how do we get out of this? Should mutual hatred between Israelis and Palestinians cost lives? You, the strong side, have to find a way to move ahead and get over this misunderstanding between Sharon and Arafat.
"Sharon has no political plan. Here and there I hear `ideas,' and `thoughts,' but nothing comes out of these `ideas' except an escalation in violence at the expense of both sides," Mubarak continued.
Mubarak's complaints about Sharon began in the earliest days of Sharon's tenure. "He sent me three or four messages, and said `I have a plan for peace.' The Arab world was excited and told me, `give him a chance.' Sharon promised me, `Within 15 days I will present my plan.' I waited. But instead of a plan, the shooting and the violence. I understood immediately Sharon does not trust Arafat. But I also know Arafat has no trust in Sharon. I proposed they meet, and with American encouragement I invited them to Sharm el Sheikh. But Sharon ignored it, and the situation worsened," the president said.
"Let's assume Sharon and Arafat can't stand each other. Arafat, I tell you, is not the issue. Negotiations can be held without the leaders: negotiating teams are appointed and they are sent to work for peace. It is terrible that people are paying with their lives. I am sorry to hear Israelis I meet say `I can't send my daughter to the mall, because I am afraid of a terrorist.'"
"Think," said Mubarak, "what brought about these attacks? The Palestinian people are in despair from their unbearably difficult lives. There is no political process. There is nobody to give them hope, on the contrary. You demand Arafat stop the attacks. How can he? He doesn't have a police force, no informants or security forces.
"Did you forget what happened in Jenin? In Gaza? Be fair: you are the strong party, you have the army, the tanks, the planes. Look for a solution. I know the situation is difficult. But if Sharon continues not offering solutions, the situation will get a lot worse. I say now the Palestinians have the strength to continue their struggle against you for another 50 years."
Mubarak called President George W. Bush's declarations about Arafat, "irrelevant."
"Does Bush live in Israel? Does he know the reality on the Palestinian side? All he knows, to be frank, is what the Israeli propaganda machine feeds him against Arafat."
The meeting with the press came after a closed-door meeting between him and Peres, who later said that "the criticism I heard from Mubarak about prime minister Sharon was much more moderate. He only complained that Sharon `does not have a peace plan.'"
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who sat in on the meeting with the journalists, emphasized the differences of opinion between him and Peres, who told his hosts that "Arafat is too weak to stop the terrorism, and too strong for us to expel."
Mubarak told Peres that "there is a big mistake in the cycle of terror and reactions," and that the Hamas is ready to cease its terrorism. Israeli declarations that Arafat is irrelevant, said Mubarak, "only strengthen Palestinian support for him."
Peres said that as long as there are a dozen armed groups in the territories, no political progress is possible, and as long as nobody in the territories takes responsibility, there won't be a breakthrough. Asked about Mubarak's suggestion that Egypt bring Arafat and Sharon together, Peres said on return to Israel that "now is not the time for big events, but for discreet work."
At a press conference after his meetings, Peres told reporters that "there is no address" for negotiations on the Palestinian side. Maher said that if Israel has difficulty finding an address on the Palestinian side, Egypt will find one. "How many other addresses do you have?" asked Peres. "The address is the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Arafat, who was elected democratically by the Palestinians."
After his meeting with Mubarak and Maher, Peres met with a group of Egyptian intellectuals at the presidential palace. Among those attending the meeting was former Egyptian ambassador to Israel Mohammed Bassiouni. The Egyptians asked how Israel proposes to end the situation and if Sharon really wants peace. They spoke of the need to reach peace quickly, and the reasons for and roots of terror. "You have to look at the roots of terror in 1996, as well," said Peres.
One of those attending, Mohammed Sid Ahmed, said to the foreign minister: "I know Shimon Peres, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate with the Palestinians. But there is another Shimon Peres, who insists on staying in the Sharon government."
haaretzdaily.com. |
