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ABU DHABI, SEPT. 26, 2001 (WAM)--A UAE English newspaper today criticised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's tactics aimed at hampering Middle East peace talks. Commenting editorially on the issue, the Dubai-based +Khaleej Times+ said: + Israel Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, his patience worn thin byhis own prime minister's intransigence, has blurted out the truth by saying that the lull in violence in the Middle East should clear the way for peace talks. +What he implied was that Ariel Sharon no longer had any excuse for postponing further Peres' meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Earlier, Israeli radio reports had suggested that the foreign minister was contemplating resigning from the cabinet to put an end to the humiliation he has been undergoing ever since the senior Labour Party leader joined the Likud-led ruling coalition+. Peres's candid observation- that " it is difficult to reach a situation (in a place like the Middle East) where there is no incident"- is actually an understatement, going by the developments of the past few weeks, the paper noted. Since the news of the terrorist assault on America broke on TV channels worldwide, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has demonstrated a mixture of restraint, maturity and statemanship that has upstaged the Israeli leadership, the paper said. While the latter, the paper went on to say, chose to turn the American tragedy into an opportunity to pile greater pressure on the Palestinians, the former was quick to distance the Intifada from the September 11 terrorist operations and call for calm in the face of Israeli provocations. +It will perhaps never be known whether the perpetrators of the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks were provoked by the present Israeli government's repressive policies, evidence collected so far by US authorities suggests that the whole operation was planned when the Oslo peace process was alive and running,+ the paper pointed out. +Chastened by past mistakes, the Palestinian leadership has chosen to take the high road instead of falling into the trap that events halfway across the world had unwittingly laid for them. In the process, the Sharon government has emerged as an even greater liability for the Bush administration, which has only new woken up to the threat posed to American lives and interest by Israel's repressive policies.+ +However, it is also clear that the Israeli leader is not afraid to cock a snook at its sole international ally, confident of its political lobbyists' capacity for reining in Bush if push comes to shove. Hence, Sharon's insistence on an unrealistic 48- hour period of calm before Peres can go ahead with his long-awaited meeting with Arafat. At the same time, Sharon is bitterly attacking European officials who dare to suggest an indirect link between Israel's policies and terrorism of Middle Eastern origin, specifically the September 11 attacks,+ Clearly, how President Bush deals with the headstrong Israeli leader will be a key test of his commitment to eradicating terrorism, the paper concluded. WAM/OA-VV |
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(c) Copyright 2001 Emirates News Agency
(WAM) |