 |
|
All
those who do not want the peace process and want to pursue the
aggression and occupation are part of the new Israeli government:
Shaath
|
CAIRO,
November 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Israeli caretaker
cabinet is perhaps the worst ever in the history of the Jewish state,
Palestinian international cooperation minister Nabil Shaath said
Wednesday, November 6.
"This
government is perhaps the worst ever to govern Israel until now, and all
those who do not want the peace process and want to pursue the
aggression and occupation are part of it," Shaath told reporters
during a visit to Egypt.
Early
elections are to be held in Israel early next year, following last
week's collapse of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition government
after the withdrawal of the center-left Labor, Agence France-Presse
(AFP) said.
A
hawkish narrow right-wing coalition is to govern in the meantime,
including leading hardliners such as former prime minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and former army chief of staff Shaul Mofaz, in addition to the
current prime minister.
"This
forces us to ask our Arab brothers and all international parties, and
above all the United States, to demonstrate care toward this government
and its behavior," Shaath said after talks with Egyptian Foreign
Minister Ahmed Maher.
Shaath
urged the international community to take measures likely to stop
Israeli aggression and end the occupation, otherwise the government will
postpone until the Israeli elections, whose results nobody knows.
The
Palestinian official said he gave Maher a message from Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat to President Hosni Mubarak.
Shaath
said his visit to Cairo was the last stop on a tour which also took him
to Saudi Arabia and Jordan to discuss the U.S. "roadmap" for
peace.
The
blueprint, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside
Israel by 2005, was put together by the United Nations, the European
Union, Russia and the United States, the so-called Middle East quartet.
It
was discussed with Arab states by U.S. envoy William Burns during a
regional tour last month.
Shaath
said the Palestinians pledged not to respond to the document before
listening to the opinions of Arab countries, particularly Egypt, adding
that the topic would be debated by Arab foreign ministers meeting in
Cairo Sunday, November 10.
He
said it was necessary to improve the document and fill certain gaps.
Shaath
said the Palestinians were particularly unhappy because the roadmap
contained no agenda and it did not deal sufficiently with the problem of
settlements and the question of Jerusalem was hardly mentioned there.
"The
Palestinian side in no case wants to cause this roadmap to fail. On the
contrary, we want it supported on solid bases," he said.
For
his part, Maher said Egypt "does not comment on Israeli
governments.
"We
only protest against the policies pursued by Israel." Those
policies have failed "because they have achieved neither peace nor
security but, on the contrary, have caused crises in the very heart of
Israel."
He
added, however, that he was sure the United States was aware of the
"gravity of the situation and the dangers of the advent of a new,
more obstinate government."
Washington
"will continue to work with other members of the quartet to
accelerate efforts aimed at beginning serious negotiations" on the
Middle East, he said.
Meanwhile
in Occupied Jerusalem, Israeli border guards opened fire on a car,
seriously wounding two Arab Israelis at a road block in northern Israel
early Thursday, November 7, police sources said.
Believing
those in the car to be connected with Palestinian activists, the Israeli
guards opened fire on the driver and the three passengers -- from the
Arab Israeli town of Taibeh, near Tel Aviv, AFP said.
