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Sharon Says World Has No Right To Try Israel
JERUSALEM, March 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected blame Sunday for the Palestinian uprising in spite of being the initial spark that triggered the Palestinian Intifada, as he made a controversial visit September 28th to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, a holy site to Muslims.
"It is clear today to everyone that there is no relation between my visit and the wave of terrorism," Sharon said. "Everyone knows that it was a strategic decision by [Palestinian leader] Yasser Arafat, who believed he could put pressure and obtain more from Israel and prompt international intervention in the conflict."
Palestinians blame the violence on the Israeli occupation and on a blockade of its areas imposed at the start of the uprising, which hampers movement and has crippled the Palestinian economy.
Sharon has put himself on a collision course with an international fact-finding mission headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell.
Sharon told Israeli radio he had no choice other than to meet the commission, but described the investigation into recent violence in the Palestinian territories as a "historic mistake".
Sharon says his predecessor, Ehud Barak, made a grave "historical mistake" by allowing the investigation, equating it with putting Israel before an international tribunal.
"Israel may have the right to put others on trial, but certainly no one has the right to put the Jewish people and the State of Israel on trial," he said, news agencies reported.
Sharon also made clear that Israel, accused by international human rights group of using "excessive force" to quell the violence, rejects efforts to prosecute it internationally for its actions during the Intifada.
"No one, and I mean no one, has the right to bring Israel and the Jewish people before a court of the world's people," he said.
A total of 444 people have been killed in the violence, most of them Palestinians, but Sharon has put the blame squarely on Arafat's shoulders and is adamant that peace talks will not resume under fire.
Marwan Barghouthi, the West Bank chief of Arafat's Fatah faction regarded as a key leader of the Intifada, last week announced a change of strategy aimed at reviving a more widespread participation among Palestinians.
In Nablus, about 4,000 Palestinians staged a march on a checkpoint at the eastern edge of the Palestinian-controlled city, chanting, "End the occupation, continue the Intifada."
Further demonstrations have been called to coincide with the Arab summit in Amman that opens Tuesday.
Arab foreign ministers were meeting Sunday to prepare for the gathering of heads of state that is expected to deliver a strong condemnation of Israel.
The U.N. Security Council, meanwhile, is due to meet again Sunday to debate a draft resolution aimed at ending the violence after failing to reach a consensus on Saturday.
The draft would ask U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to consult the sides on ending the violence and renewing peace talks, call on Israel to lift its blockade and express concern about planned Jewish settlement expansion.
Diplomats said the United States insisted that part of its price for supporting the text was to delete explicit mention of the closure of the Palestinian territories and the expansion of Jewish settlements.
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