- The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has warned
President George Bush that if Washington tries to impose a peace deal he
will call early elections, thereby freezing the peace process.
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- The threat emerged as Mr Bush and officials were poised
to consider a strategy for the Middle East, including the establishment
of a Palestinian state.
-
- Mr Sharon told Mr Bush at the White House this week that
if countries tried to impose such a state he would call elections, which
would paralyse diplomatic activity for months.
-
- Mr Sharon said he envisioned a Palestinian state only
after a long negotiating process and an end to all attacks against Israelis.
-
- However, the prospect of a halt to Palestinian attacks
appeared faint, with the death of a 15-year-old Israeli girl and the wounding
of eight other people in a suicide bombing in a small restaurant in Herzliya,
north of Tel Aviv, on Tuesday.
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- In the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops guarding the Jewish
settlement of Netzarim on Tuesday night shot dead an eight-year-old boy
in a nearby village, Palestinian security sources said. The Israeli Army
said it responded to heavy gunfire from the area. The army said troops
also opened fire on a group of armed Palestinians approaching Netzarim,
killing four.
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- Also in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian was killed in a
blast, apparently while preparing explosives.
-
- After meeting Mr Sharon on Monday, Mr Bush said the conditions
were not right for a Middle East peace conference because no-one had confidence
in the Palestinian government.
-
- The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said:
"Bush's statements are embarrassing and do not encourage or bring
hope for moving forward the peace process in the region. George Bush has
taken the shortest possible short cut to prevent a clash with the Israeli
Prime Minister."
-
- However, there was confusion over the US position with
the publication yesterday of an interview in which the Secretary of State,
Colin Powell, said Washington would continue to work with the Palestinian
President, Yasser Arafat, and still planned a Middle East peace conference
in the northern summer.
-
- The London-based Arabic daily al-Hayat quoted Mr Powell
as saying: "The Palestinian people ... elected him, and he is the
president of the government of the Palestinian Authority. The United States
acknowledges this. I have said this repeatedly, and the President realises
this."
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- Mr Bush, while opposing a firm timetable for a negotiated
settlement of the conflict, has indicated his willingness to set down the
principles for restarting and guiding peace talks.
-
- Mr Bush reportedly also told Mr Sharon that he remained
committed to replacing the Iraqi Government, although no decision had been
made as to how.
-
- David Sonnenstein, an Israeli reserve lieutenant who
drew up an "absentees' petition" six months ago, has been jailed
for 35 days for refusing to serve in the occupied territories. The petition
has been signed by 467 reserve soldiers.
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- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/06/12/1023864300246.html
Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald.
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