Israel and US to examine Qurei's commitment to peace
Janine Zacharia and Herb Keinon
Sep. 9, 2003
Both Israel and the US express reservations regarding
the recent appointment of Ahmed Qurei as the new
Palestinian prime minister, insisting that the former
Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker must prove
himself by action.
Senior Israeli officials, en route to India with Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, said Monday that the replacement
of Mahmoud Abbas with Qurei is little more than
"musical chairs" with Yasser Arafat in charge of
turning on and off the music.
If Qurie, tabbed by Arafat to form the next PA
government, dismantles the terror infrastructure,
collects illegal arms, and makes arrest, he will be a
partner, a senior official in Sharon's entourage said.
But, he added, "since he is an Arafat appointment, the
chances are highly unlikely. He will have to prove
himself before we talk to him, the onus of proof is on
him."
The changes in PA leadership are expected to be among
the issues Sharon will discuss today with India's
leadership. In a busy first day of his three-day visit,
Sharon is slated to meet India's president, foreign
minister, interior minister, national security advisor
and prime minister.
Education Minister Limor Livnat, one of three ministers
accompanying Sharon, said as long as Arafat is in
control, there is no reason to believe Qurie will fight
terror any more effectively than Abbas did.
Asked if she already missed Abbas, Livnat chuckled and
said, "he was nice enough, but could not deliver the
goods." As long as Arafat anoints the Palestinian prime
minister, Livnat said, "we will not have a partner."
Livnat said she is in favor of "getting rid of Arafat,"
although she would not spell out how she thinks this
should be done. The removal of Arafat, she said, is a
pre-requisite to moving forward with the Palestinians.
A senior official in the Prime Minister's office,
however, said at this point Sharon does not feel it is
the right time to deport Arafat. He said that the
feeling in the Defense establishment is that Arafat
would still cause more damage for Israel abroad than he
is able to do from his compound in Ramallah.
The official said Israel is fully coordinated on this
matter with the US, and will not act without consulting
Washington. The US, the official said, is concerned
about the disruptive effect expelling Arafat would have
on the situation facing the US in Iraq.
The US withheld comment on the prospect of Qurei
becoming the new Palestinian prime minister, insisting
simply that the next leader should have the power to
press for reforms and to fight terrorism.
"Whoever becomes the new Palestinian prime minister,
we're looking to see if he has the commitment, the
authority and the resources to move forward on the road
map," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"At this juncture that means principally to move
forward on taking control of the security situation in
acting against groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad."
US Secretary of State Colin Powell worked the phones
Monday to keep abreast of developments and consult on
how to proceed. He spoke to Palestinian Foreign
Minister Nabil Shaath, EU envoy Javier Solana, French
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and Italian
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country holds
the rotating EU presidency.
On Sunday, Powell spoke to Foreign Minister Silvan
Shalom.
US spokesman had no direct comment on Qurei's demand
that Washington guarantee Israel will halt military
strikes on Hamas leaders, as a precondition for him
accepting the position.
Abbas's resignation over the weekend has severely
frustrated US Middle East peacemaking efforts.
Some analysts predicted a dramatic downshift in US
engagement as the administration remains focused on an
increasingly complicated situation in Iraq and as the
election campaign for 2004 gets underway.
But perhaps most significantly, should Abu Ala be
confirmed as prime minister, the Bush administration
would be forced to make a stark acknowledgement - that
despite its efforts over the past 15 months to sideline
Arafat, the only peace partner they have is one
sanctioned by him.
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