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Sharon: Arafat's death may revive peace
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-11 20:16
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described Yasser Arafat's death Thursday as a
turning point for Middle East peace as Israelis marked the end of an era in
relations with the Palestinians.
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| Palestinian children hold posters of Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat during a rally following the announcement of his death, in east
Jerusalem November 11, 2004. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who rose
from guerrilla icon to Nobel peace prize-winner but ended up isolated and
locked in conflict with Israel, died in a French hospital.
[Reuters] | Israelis offered little regret for the death of the 75-year-old Palestinian
leader, noting his terrorist past. But many were hopeful that it would revive
efforts to bring peace to the troubled region.
"The recent events could be a historic turning point for the Middle East,"
Sharon said. "Israel is a country that seeks peace and will continue its efforts
to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians without delay."
President Bush and other world leaders echoed those hopes.
"We express our condolences to the Palestinian people," Bush said. "For the
Palestinian people, we hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment
of their aspirations for an independent, democratic Palestine that is at peace
with its neighbors."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was expected to press for stepped up
efforts toward Middle East peace in a meeting with Bush later Friday in
Washington.
Arafat "led his people to an historic acceptance and the need for a two-state
solution," Blair said, adding that was something "we must continue to work
tirelessly to achieve."
Though declining to even refer to Arafat by name, Sharon expressed hope that
the Palestinians would work toward "stopping terrorism," which he described as a
precondition for the peace process.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, in turn, called on Israel to
resume implementation of the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, saying the
Jewish state could no longer use its dislike for Arafat to avoid its
obligations.
"Now, the road is open, and we are telling the Israelis, welcome if you want
to implement the road map, then implement it," Shaath told The Associated Press.
"It was the path of President Arafat, and we will go on the path of Arafat."
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who attempted to negotiate a peace deal
with Arafat at Camp David, described him as a corrupt leader whose worst sin was
the "poisoning of the souls of the young Palestinians with a burning hatred for
Israel."
"Today the Palestinians have the possibility to take their fate in their
hands to lead to a reduction in the terror and a return to negotiations," he
said. "Only time will tell if they succeed to reach these goals."
Israeli opposition leader Shimon Peres recalled how the Palestinian leader
constantly wavered between violence and peacemaking, seeking to remain popular.
Peres, Arafat and late-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shared a Nobel Peace
prize in 1994 for signing an interim peace deal.
That accord quickly unraveled amid mutual suspicions and accusations of
treaty violations. A new round of violence that erupted in the fall of 2000 has
killed some 4,000 people, three-quarters of them Palestinians.
"The biggest mistake of Arafat was when he turned to terror," Peres told
Israel Radio. "His greatest achievements were when he tried to build peace."
Fearing widespread Palestinian riots in the coming days, Israel sealed off
the West Bank and Gaza Strip Thursday and sent troop reinforcements, about five
battalions or 1,600 troops, to the areas, the military said.
Troops posted in Jewish settlements were put on high alert, as were guards at
Israeli jails holding Palestinian prisoners, officials said.
Soldiers were ordered not to express happiness at the death of a man who was
reviled by many Israelis as a terrorist.
However, many Israelis were pleased by the news.
Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid blamed Arafat for the spread of global
terrorism and the failure to achieve Middle East peace.
"I hated him for the deaths of thousands of Israelis," Lapid told Israel
Radio. "I hated him for preventing the peace agreements between us and the
Palestinians."
"One of the tragedies of the world is that it didn't understand that the
terrorism that began here would spread to the entire world," Lapid
added.
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