As Ariel Sharon began his first visit to the United States
since becoming Prime Minister, any thoughts he may have had
about relaxing and enjoying his new status are far away as
the murderous Palestinian violence in Israel continues.
Efrat resident Boruch Cohen Hy"d was murdered on his
way to work on Monday morning, and the Palestinians launched
a mortar attack the previous night, signaling an escalation
in the tools they use to kill Jews.
In response to the murder, the IDF imposed a partial closure
on Bethlehem to which the terrorists fled. The closure had
just been eased there to acknowledge the fact that things
had been quiet. Cohen's murder occurred just eight hours
after the IDF reopened the road that is believed to be the
route the terrorists used as they fled.
Judea and Samaria Battalion commander Brig.-Gen. Benny Ganz
said that the fleeing terrorists would have passed at least
two roadblocks manned by Palestinian policemen on their way
to Bethlehem.
Reacting to the latest attacks, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
called for the world to isolate Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat until he makes an effort to halt the
violence. Sources in the prime minister's entourage said
Sharon would ask U.S. President George W. Bush in their
meeting at the White House on Tuesday not to invite Arafat
to Washington until the violence subsides.
Sharon urged all "peace-seeking nations to stress to Arafat
and the PA the gravity of their actions, and to make it
clear that a high price will be extracted from those who
attack innocent civilians and destabilize the Middle
East."
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who is acting prime minister
in Sharon's absence, spoke with a number of world leaders by
telephone Monday night, urging them to press Arafat to halt
violence.
Immediately after assuming office, a statement from the
Prime Minister's Office read, Sharon ordered a number of
restrictions lifted for the Palestinian population to
differentiate as much as possible between those who order
and carry out terrorist acts, and the civilian Palestinian
population not involved in the terrorism.
According to the statement, the PA is deepening its
involvement in incitement, violence, and terrorism, and the
terrorist activities of Arafat's Force 17 and elements
inside Fatah are increasing. Likewise, cooperation among the
PA and Fatah and Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad is
increasing.
Speaking by video hookup to a hi-tech conference last
Thursday, Sharon echoed the themes that he has been
stressing since taking office. "The Government is committed
to pursuing a lasting peace with security, but with a
different, more realistic, step-by-step approach than that
which was attempted till now. I will make every effort to
maintain stability and quiet as this is the environment
needed for economic growth," he said.
Prime Minister Sharon stressed that Israel has the national
resolve, determination and will to develop and realize its
potential for sustainable economic growth based on geo-
political stability on the one hand, and economic stability
and the necessary economic reforms on the other.
Sharon consulted by phone with Peres and Defense Minister
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer regarding steps to take in response to
the attacks, although no immediate operative decisions were
taken. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
claimed responsibility for the Gush Etzion attack. Cohen, 59
and a father of six, was the first Israeli terrorism victim
since Sharon took office earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, Israeli security officials said they believe the
mortar attack on Nahal Oz came from Force 17
headquarters.
Peres told a meeting of the Labor Party Knesset faction that
negotiations with the Palestinians will not resume as long
as the Palestinians continue calling for the UN to station
observers in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip.
Israel will not transfer funds to the PA, Finance Minister
Silvan Shalom said. At issue are some $300 million in value
added tax payments mandated for transfer under the Oslo
Agreement and the 1994 Paris Accords. "There is no
possibility that we will fund those entities and groups that
attack us," Shalom said. At the same time, he noted that he
is not in favor of "starving" the Palestinians.
US: Halt Violence
The US has clearly and unequivocally called upon the
Palestinians to put an end to the violence, US National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told visiting Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon just hours after Mondays's terror
attack.
"Terror is the principle danger to stability in the Middle
East," Sharon said in a meeting with Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld. "Most of the wars in the Mideast began
because of terror."
Sharon also said Monday that his multistage diplomatic
proposal with the Palestinians includes giving them
contiguous territory so they do not have to pass through
Israeli roadblocks.
Asked by the journalists to elaborate on his diplomatic
plan, Sharon said that the first thing that must be done is
to put an end to terror. If this is accomplished, he said,
Israel will pursue a multistage plan that will be based on
the concept of non-belligerency, Israeli-Palestinian
security cooperation, and actions taken by Arafat to fight
the terror infrastructure.
If this is done, Sharon said, it will lead to economic
cooperation, and joint projects such as a desalination
plant.
Former prime minister Ehud Barak, Sharon said, went further
than any other Israeli leader in offering concessions to the
Palestinians - something that only led to an explosion of
violence. The willingness to negotiate under fire, Sharon
said, was one of the previous government's gravest
errors.
