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No
Cheney-Arafat Meeting Set, As U.S. Says Conditions Not Met
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| Bush
says he’s “disappointed” in Arafat’s performance. |
WASHINGTON,
March 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The White House on
Friday said that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had not yet met
conditions for meeting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, news
agencies reported.
"To
this point, the conditions have not been met. Chairman Arafat knows
what he needs to do and that is to end the violence," White
House national security spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in
Monterrey, Mexico, where U.S. President George W. Bush is attending
a U.N. anti-poverty summit.
White
House officials say they have until Sunday night to decide whether
Arafat has met conditions necessary for a face-to-face meeting with
Cheney before next week's Arab summit, which is scheduled to discuss
and endorse a long-term Saudi peace plan for the region, reported
CNN.
Cheney
laid those conditions out “very clearly” during a trip to the
Middle East last week, and by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
in a telephone call to Arafat on Thursday, McCormack added.
Cheney
refused to see Arafat during a 10-day trip to the region that ended
on Wednesday, but has held out the possibility of a meeting next
week if Arafat carries out a ceasefire plan laid out last year by
CIA Director George Tenet.
In
his phone call to Arafat, Powell told him, “he must punish the
leaders of organizations responsible for recent attacks, making sure
those responsible are brought to justice," State Department
Spokesman Philip Reeker said.
The
comments came as senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials
ended new talks in Jerusalem Friday afternoon without a ceasefire
agreement to quell 18 months of violence.
Israeli
defense ministry spokesman Yarden Vatikai told Agence France-Presse
(AFP) however that both sides decided to hold another meeting
Sunday.
The
meeting, organized by special U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni,
convened after a session was canceled Thursday because of a martyr
operation in Jerusalem which killed three Israelis and wounded more
than 40 others.
That
attack - condemned by the Palestinian leadership - and another
attack on Friday, were claimed by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an
offshoot of Arafat's Fatah movement. The U.S. on Thursday declared
and listed the group as foreign terrorist organization.
In
Friday's attack, a Palestinian blew himself up when soldiers
approached him at a northern West Bank checkpoint as he tried to
enter Israel, injuring one soldier.
Zinni
nevertheless "remains in the region, working with the parties
to make a ceasefire effective. And he will report back," said
McCormack.
Cheney
on Thursday said the key to whether he returns to the Middle East to
meet Arafat would be Zinni, who would "make his judgment based
on whether or not" Arafat is implementing a ceasefire proposal
by Tenet.
"If
he's doing that, living up to those requirements, and General Zinni
signs off on it, then I'm prepared to go back almost immediately for
a meeting," Cheney said.
Washington
wants Arafat to call on Palestinians to relinquish violence, order
his security forces to uphold a pause in hostilities, and take other
steps outlined in the Tenet plan. However, no such call has been
given to the Israelis concerning violence committed on their part.
A
Cheney-Arafat meeting would be the clearest sign yet of the
evolution of the U.S. position vis-a-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict,
and that it would be starting to distance itself from the strong-arm
methods of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
CNN
reports that Bush’s administration believes a Cheney-Arafat
meeting could serve several important purposes:
-
Give Sharon political cover for lifting travel restrictions on
Arafat so he can attend the Arab summit that begins Wednesday in
Beirut, Lebanon.
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Allow Cheney to put Arafat on notice not to say anything at the
summit that might incite more violence.
-
Change the tenor of a summit U.S. officials fear will be dominated
by criticism of Israel and the United States if Arafat is not
allowed to attend. With Arafat present, U.S. officials hope the
focus will be on the new Saudi peace initiative, and that Arab
leaders will pressure Arafat to do his part to make a lasting
ceasefire take hold.
Since
becoming president in January 2001, Bush has refused to meet with
Arafat accusing him of not doing enough to stop the Palestinian
uprising.
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