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News :: Israel / Palestine |
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APN Mideast Peace Report |
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by Americans for Peace Now via Gehrig
(No verified email address) |
20 Jan 2004
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"Peace Report" from Americans for Peace Now, a group supporting the Israeli leftist organization Shalom Achshav; briefs on topics like Sharon's loss of face in the on-going bribery scandal and a call from the leader of the Shinui party to move the security fence much closer to the Green Line. |
Middle East Peace Report
January 19, 2004
Vol. 5, Issue 25
Trust Buster: The latest Dahaf/Yedioth Ahronoth survey found that 67% of Israelis think Ariel Sharon knew about the illegal fund-raising for his election campaign and that he was involved in it, while just 17% don’t believe the accusations. A majority of 56% say that Sharon is not a credible prime minister, compared with 41% who believe he is. The public is almost evenly split over whether he should resign from the premiership, with 46% saying yes and 51% saying no. On questions related to the peace process, 49% of respondents said they favor evacuating settlements and a unilateral withdrawal to a line which Israel alone would determine, while 44% do not favor such moves. Asked whether the separation fence should be located where it is now or more or less along the Green Line, 44% expressed approval of its current location and 38% prefer it to be built along the Green Line. However, 52% of Israelis recognize that the present location of the separation fence will hinder peace negotiations, even though 43% don’t think so. 61% think President Katsav did the right thing in inviting Syrian President Assad to come and negotiate in Jerusalem, and a plurality of 49% said that the public reactions of ministers and Knesset Members to Assad’s feelers did not promote Israeli interests. Looking over these results, Sever Plotzker commented, in part, “…The collapse of Sharon’s credibility reflected in the poll…is precipitous and palpable. Last July 64% of Israelis thought that Sharon was a credible prime minister. By November the percentage had dropped to 53%. Now it has plummeted to 41%. Even more significant and ominous for an incumbent prime minister is the sharp increase in the percentage of Israelis who think that Sharon is untrustworthy, perhaps very untrustworthy. Eight months ago the figure was 32%, now it has reached 56%...In a poll taken nearly a year ago—the financial scandal of the Sharon family has been dragging on already for a year—only 33% of Israelis thought that Sharon ought to resign if it emerged that he knew about the illegal fund-raising for his election campaign. In [last] week’s poll the figure has jumped to 46%...” (Yedioth Ahronoth, 1/16/04)
U.S. Folds On Road Map: The Financial Times reports that in a recent pep talk to his staff, Secretary of State Colin Powell laid out his priority missions for 2004. The internationally backed Road Map to Middle East peace did not even garner a mention. John Wolf, the senior U.S. official appointed to monitor progress with the Road Map, has not set foot in the region for about four months, although he is slated to visit next week. Associates say he has returned to his previous Washington job dealing with non-proliferation. Associates say that Secretary Powell’s reluctance to devote time and resources to the peace process reflects both his perception that the situation is hopeless as long as Yasir Arafat holds the reins of Palestinian power, and the knowledge that this is a battle he cannot win inside the administration during an election campaign. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s speech on December 18, in which he threatened to take unilateral steps if the Road Map isn’t implemented in a few months, was welcomed by the White House. “The administration is gearing up to justify what Sharon is going to do. It will spell the end of the Road Map,” said one U.S. official. An analyst close to the administration said, “The Road Map required three commitments. The Israelis to dismantle settlements, the Palestinians to dismantle the terrorist organizations, and the U.S. to tell the truth about what was being done. None of these has happened.” (Financial Times, 1/13/04 & Ma’ariv, 1/19/04)
The Bill Is In The Mail: The Prime Minister’s Office is considering a request for special aid from the U.S. to dismantle settlements in the occupied territories, if and when it is decided to implement Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan. The subject of U.S. aid has arisen because the Prime Minister’s Office believes that a source must be found to finance both compensation for Jewish settlers and the relocation of their houses to other communities. The cost is estimated to be at least NIS 10 billion. Dov Weissglas, director of the Prime Minister’s Bureau said that it was difficult at this stage to talk about preparing an aid request, but one could not be ruled out if the team working on Sharon’s disengagement plan concludes that a very large amount of money is involved. (Globes, 1/13/04)
The Wall Flowers: Israel has accelerated the pace of construction on the separation wall around Jerusalem. Last week, workers began laboring around the clock. “The work needs to be done day and night,” the Defense Ministry officials instructed construction companies and contractors who are building the fence around Jerusalem. The goal is to complete the construction of the barrier within six months, by the end of July. That means a pace of construction that is approximately ten kilometers a month. The entire length of the Jerusalem envelope structure is slated to be 76 kilometers, out of which 25 kilometers have already been built. No final decision has been made yet about the route of the fence in eastern Jerusalem, but a decision in principle has been made to have it encompass Maale Adumim from the east. This will oblige the fence to jut out 15 kilometers east of the municipal boundaries. A concrete wall, eight meters high, will be built in all the populated areas, like Abu Dis, southern Jerusalem, and northeastern Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Claire Smith, president of the World Archaeological Congress, said that Israel is systematically destroying historic sites in the occupied territories—including world heritage sites in Bethlehem, Nablus, and Hebron, many located in the path of the separation barrier. Israel has admitted to partly demolishing at least one site, an ancient Byzantine monastery in Abu Dis. Smith urged world governments to insist Israel observe the Hague treaty protecting cultural assets in armed conflicts. (Yedioth Ahronoth, 1/13/04 & Ha’aretz, 1/11/04)
Tommy Guns For New Fence Route: Justice Minister Tommy Lapid is proposing an alternative route for the security fence. His proposal would shorten the fence by about 200 kilometers and reduce its cost by some NIS 2 billion. He believes that this is the only way to enlist the support of the U.S. for the fence and to go to the International Court of Justice in The Hague with a real chance of success. In Lapid’s plan, Israel would abandon all the salients of Ariel, Alfei Menashe, and so on, and the fence would run close the Green Line. Israel would also give up two salients in the vicinity of Ben-Gurion Airport, which encircle Palestinian villages and place them in an impossible situation. In the southern sector of the fence, it runs closer to the Green Line than in the government’s plan, and the last—most dramatic—change is the cancellation of three enclaves in the Jerusalem area, in which Palestinian villages are totally cut off from their surroundings. (Ma’ariv, 1/16/04)
More stories at http://www.peacenow.org/nia/peace/v5i25.html
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