OCCUPIED JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT, 7 July — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returned home yesterday empty-handed at the end of his lightning trip to Europe, where leaders told him off for his hard-line policies on the Palestinian uprising. Sharon at a press conference on his return acknowledged disagreement with European leaders over Israel’s strong-arm policies against the Palestinians.
Giving a positive spin to his otherwise unsuccessful tour, Sharon said: “It’s natural that we didn’t agree on everything but the main issue was to get the Israeli position understood, and I think I put it forward very clearly,” Sharon said.
French President Jacques Chirac warned Sharon not to try and “weaken” Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, while German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder reaffirmed European support for implementing an internationally backed peace plan but told Israel to be more flexible.
Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday held talks with US Vice President Dick Cheney by telephone on the latest Middle East developments and stressed the need for restoring the legitimate rights of Palestinians.
In Tel Aviv, a US-mediated meeting between Israeli and Palestinian security officials ended without agreement on the start of a seven-day truce intended to precede a cooling-off period and resumption of negotiations.
“The Israelis consider the ceasefire period has not begun,” Palestinian head of general security in Gaza Maj. Gen. Abdel-Razek al-Majaydeh told Reuters. “But we say that in accordance with the understanding with them and the Americans, the period has started, and ended on Wednesday”.
Israeli Defence Ministry spokesman Yarden Vatikay said the US had “completely accepted” the Israeli position that the countdown had yet to begin because of ongoing violence. Al-Majyadeh said the US “did not comment if it started or ended”. Emphasizing the fragility of a three-week-old cease-fire, at least 12 Palestinian demonstrators were injured by live fire from Israeli soldiers during Gaza and West Bank confrontations.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement earlier accused Israeli troops of trying to assassinate one of its members after a 22-year-old was shot in the back by what they said was an Israeli sniper posted on a nearby rooftop.
According to Israel’s Maariv daily, Shin Bet, Tel Aviv’s domestic security service, handed over a report to then Prime Minister Ehud Barak last October suggesting Arafat’s elimination. (Details on page 5)
In Beirut, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East William Burns said yesterday that Washington wanted to break the cycle of violence so as to relaunch the peace process. European Union’s special envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos who met Lebanon’s Premier Rafik Hariri said: “We consider that without a comprehensive peace in the region without really getting into a final and comprehensive solution, there will not be a fair and lasting peace.
Russian Middle East envoy Andrei Vdovin said in Beirut, “Peace on all tracks is needed.”
