Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, visiting 10 Downing Street, has
told Prime Minister Tony Blair that construction of the West
Bank security fence will continue, despite international
opposition. Earlier in the day he met with British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw. The meetings were friendly, but there
was not meeting of the minds.
An official described the meeting between Sharon and Blair as
"an intimate meeting between friends." A British spokesman
called the talks "warm and constructive" and said both
leaders restated a commitment to a Middle East peace plan
known as the "road map." An Israeli official described the
meeting with Straw in similar terms, saying the meeting was
"very friendly" and involved "a good exchange," but that
there were differences on major issues.
Sharon asked the British leaders to cease their contacts with
Yasser Arafat, calling Yasser Arafat the main obstacle to a
revived Middle East peace process. He explained that Arafat
is himself unwilling or unable to fight terror and that he
continually undermines Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud
Abbas. The Israeli intelligence community and political
leadership has concluded that he will never make a real peace
with Israel and that progress on the internationally backed
road map will be difficult as long as Arafat has a say.
The British leaders replied that Britain will keep open its
lines of communication with Arafat since he is the elected
leader of the Palestinian people and continues to enjoy broad
domestic and international support.
Another major issue is the security fence that Israel is
building along the 300 kilometer line between it and the
Palestinian population in Judah and Shomron. Israel notes
that over the last 35 months hundreds of Israelis have been
killed by suicide bombers from the West Bank, but not a
single bomber has managed to enter from fenced-off Gaza.
"The security fence is neither a political nor a military
border, rather an obstacle to penetration," Sharon told
Blair. The fence is not such a massive structure and is not
hard to move should it become necessary at some point.
America, Europe and other governments have voiced
reservations over the fence project. Palestinians argue that
it has provided Israel a pretext to confiscate Arab-owned
land and that it includes large numbers of settlers in what
could constitute a future border between Israel and an
independent Palestine.
Another topic of discussion was the release of prisoners that
the Palestinians have insisted is a necessary condition for
further progress. The "road map" does not say anything about
releasing prisoners.
Sharon assured Blair that Israel would free Palestinian
prisoners but only those "without blood on their hands" and
not members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
Sharon declared that continuing pressure must be applied on
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his security
chief Mohammed Dahlan, to dismantle the terrorist
infrastructure within Palestinian Authority-controlled
areas.
"Sharon told Blair that it is now clear to everyone that
Arafat is the main obstacle to progress in the (Israeli-
Palestinian peace) process," an Israeli official said.
"Arafat sabotages every opportunity to move forward and any
initiative or activity by (Abbas) . . . he is undermining
him."
On Tuesday Sharon is scheduled to hold a meeting with senior
British journalists in London. According to officials in
Jerusalem, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), whose
coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been very
one-sided favoring the Palestinians, will not be invited to
attend.
A number of UK Jewish leaders have come out against the
policy. The executive director of the Board of Deputies of
British Jews acknowledged that there is "a widespread view
that the BBC has not been fair to Israel." He said it is
"quite understandable why Israel is taking retaliatory
action," but thinks a ban "may be a step too far."
A prominent Jewish leader in England said he has been part of
Jewish delegations meeting with BBC officials over the past
10 years about their coverage of Israel. "The only result of
those meetings were endless cups of tea," he said.
Following last month's BBC screening of a highly critical
show on Israel's nuclear program entitled "Israel's Secret
Weapon," it was decided on a governmental level to "reduce
cooperation" with the BBC. This means that government
spokesmen will not appear on BBC programs and that the BBC
will not be invited to government briefings.
The director of the Israel Government Press Office cited
several examples. He said that months after a UN
investigation concluded there was no evidence of a massacre
in Jenin, BBC anchors and the BBC web site still implied
doubt as to what really happened there. In a recent program,
allegations were again raised about Israel's use of a
"mysterious" gas in Gaza, ignoring the fact that medical
experts refuted this hoax over two years ago.
The spokesman also said that Israeli sources reported by the
BBC almost always "allege," while Palestinians "report." When
hard evidence is presented by Israel, such as the photo of an
infant Palestinian dressed as a homicide bomber, its
authenticity is questioned. Yet Palestinians leveling the
most ludicrous of accusations against Israel are quoted
verbatim.
Also, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is often assigned a
militant adjective such as "extreme right-wing" or "former
general," something that is almost never done when describing
a Palestinian leader.
Summing up, the director said that an accumulation of
grievances over a number of years leads Israel to believe
that the BBC has crossed the line from valid criticism into
vilification and demonization of the State of Israel,
bordering on delegitimization of the nation itself. Such
treatment reinforces acts of antisemitism and violence
against Israelis and Jews worldwide.
