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Israeli president speaks out against wall
Israel should stop building its West Bank separation barrier if Palestinian
militants halt attacks, Israel's president was quoted as saying Thursday, in the
most high-profile criticism yet of the contentious project. The separation barrier and the Gaza withdrawal are part of Sharon's so-called "unilateral disengagement" from the Palestinians. The barrier — which runs mostly close to Israel, but also dips deeper into the West Bank in some areas — would serve as a temporary frontier until a final peace deal is negotiated. Sharon put together the plan at a time when Yasser Arafat was still alive. Sharon hoped it would allow Israel to seize the initiative, avoid dealing with Arafat and reduce international pressure on Israel to accept more far-reaching proposals. Israeli President Moshe Katsav said in excerpts of an interview with the Maariv daily published Thursday that it would be in the interest of Israelis and Palestinians to halt construction of the separation barrier. "If the Palestinians end terror, Israel must stop building the separation fence," said Katsav who holds a largely ceremonial position, but has some influence on public opinion. Katsav said the construction should be halted if the Palestinians agree to a truce that is observed over an extended period. Sharon's aides declined comment on Katsav's remarks. More than 1,000 Israelis have been killed in suicide bombings and shootings in more than four years of fighting. More than 3,300 Palestinians have been killed in the same period, most in clashes with Israeli troops. Israel says it needs the barrier, one-third of which has already been built, to keep out Palestinian attackers. The Palestinians have denounced it as a land grab, and note that the divider has disrupted thousands of lives. Earlier this year, the world court said in an advisory ruling the barrier must be torn down. In Israeli politics, Sharon's troubles worsened Thursday, with a threat from Shinui to quit the coalition. Shinui is upset by Sharon's attempts to bring a small religious party, United Torah Judaism, into the government, while snubbing the opposition Labor Party in coalition talks. Sharon needs to expand his coalition to survive crucial votes on the 2005 state budget in coming weeks. Labor, which supports the Gaza withdrawal plan, is interested in joining, but hawks in Sharon's Likud Party oppose the idea. Shinui leader Yosef Lapid said Thursday that a Likud-Shinui-Labor coalition would be most effective in pushing forward with the Gaza plan. If Sharon invites religious parties, at a price of increased funding for religious institutions, Shinui will quit, Lapid told Israel Army Radio. "We've reached the breaking point," he said. "There's no reason for me to stay in a government that is willing to capitulate (to religious parties)." In Palestinian politics, interim leader Mahmoud Abbas picked up a key endorsement from younger activists in his Fatah movement, reducing the probability of an internal challenge by Marwan Barghouti, a popular Fatah politician and uprising leader jailed by Israel. Abbas was named earlier this week as Fatah's candidate in Jan. 9 elections to replace Arafat as Palestinian Authority president. Abbas was chosen by Fatah oldtimers who control the organization's institutions. Barghouti, seen as a leader of the movement's young guard, has been weighing a challenge to Abbas. However, leading members of the younger generation in Fatah have in recent
days come out in support of Abbas. |
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