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Mideast War of Words Continues
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| U.S. envoy to the Middle East, Anthony Zinni
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OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, Jan. 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States continued Sunday its war of words against the Palestinians, while the rest of the world criticized Israel's violence in the region.
The Israeli daily newspaper, Maariv, said Sunday that U.S. envoy to the Middle East, Anthony Zinni, dubbed the Palestinian Authority "the mafia" and its leader Yasser Arafat "the Godfather" at a private dinner in Washington over the weekend, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
According to the Israeli paper, Zinni, an Italian American, called Arafat the "capo di tutti capi", Italian for the head of all mafia leaders. The U.S. mediator also used harsh words about Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub, heads of preventative security in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively, whom he also compared to "godfathers".
On the other hand, Zinni described hard-line Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, as a "daddy bear". Quoted at length, the mediator also said that in his view there was no chance of reaching a political settlement with Arafat. U.S. President, George W. Bush, criticized Arafat Friday, saying that he was very "disappointed" with him and even accused him of enhancing what he called "terrorism".
While Israel voiced its satisfaction that Bush had backed its tough attitude to Arafat, the Arab world warned of the dangers of Washington, the main mediator in the Middle East peace process, leaning toward one side over the other.
"The Israeli government is continuing its aggression, which unfortunately is getting the support and consolidation" of the Americans, said Arab League Secretary General, Amr Mussa. Washington has ignored Palestinian pleas to send Zinni back to the region to help revive the so-called peace process.
Trapped in his Ramallah headquarters for almost two months by Israeli occupation forces, Arafat urged Washington to stop taking Israel's side in the 16-month Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation and continued violence. "We demand they stop judging the situation in the territories, based on their relationship with the Israelis," Arafat told the Qatari-based news channel
Al-Jazeera.
Thousands of Palestinians rallied across the weekend in a show of support for their leader, while chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, said that Bush's comments were "unacceptable." Erakat said Sharon, not Arafat, was "destroying the peace process" and urged the United States to remain integrally involved in the region, CNN online reported.
"I believe President Bush knows very well that Sharon is not a man of peace," Erakat said. "At the same time, it doesn't cost President Bush anything to attack the Palestinians and to take sides with Israelis against the Palestinian Authority because of internal politics. And this can't be acceptable."
While riding high on U.S. backing, Sharon faced stinging criticism from Israeli peace activists, 1,000 of whom held sit-ins in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem accusing the right-winger of leading the country to disaster. Slogans condemning the spiral of "Israeli liquidations" were chanted during the protest, called for by the Israeli rights group Peace Now. "We do not want to kill or be killed for the (Jewish) settlement" of the Palestinian territories, the demonstrators said.
Arafat turned to Europe for support, sending letters to British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and to the Spanish government, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency, as well as telephoning Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. But Israeli government spokesman, Raanan Gissin, said Arafat had no hope of attending a European Union foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels Monday until he arrests the killers of an Israeli cabinet minister gunned down in retaliation for the assassination of a Palestinian resistance leader last October.
Arafat has been prevented from leaving Ramallah, the main Palestinian commercial hub 12 miles north of Jerusalem, since Israel destroyed his helicopters in a missile strike on Gaza on December 3. Israeli tanks are just 100 yards from his office.
Meanwhile, international efforts are being made to end Israel's illegal confinement of Arafat. Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, said he was opposed to Israel's treatment of Arafat, but urged both Israel and the Palestine Authority to exercise restraint and return to the negotiation table, Xinhua news agency reported. "We oppose Israeli military attacks on Palestine, the economic blockade and actions threatening the security of Palestinian lives and property," Jiang said in a letter to Arafat.
"We especially oppose Israel's unwise action of restricting the liberty of your excellency the president," he told Arafat. China would support any efforts beneficial to the quick end of the confrontation and the resumption of Israeli-Palestine negotiations, Jiang said.
"The Chinese government and myself are seriously concerned with the recent deterioration of the situation in the Middle East and we express sympathy and condolences for the difficulties and plight of the Palestine Authority and the Palestinian people," Jiang said. China recognizes the state of Palestine with Yassar Arafat as its president.
Jiang was replying to a letter from Arafat on January 22 that urged China to exert its influence to curb the deterioration of the situation in the region and save the Middle East peace process, Xinhua reported.
Newspapers in the Gulf and Iraq Sunday blasted Washington's pro-Israeli stance after Bush's comments that he was "very disappointed" with Arafat, AFP reported.
"Bush's words and threats of reprisals against the Palestinian Authority confirm that the U.S. administration is no longer trustworthy,"
Al-Khaleej of the United Arab Emirates said.
"The U.S. administration has revealed its Israeli character and spared the Arab world losing more time. The United States has decided to openly undertake Israel's war, which will not be limited to the Palestinians but the entire Arab region," it said.
Qatar's daily newspaper, Al-Sharq, said that "the greatest danger is the blind bias of the Bush's administration towards Sharon so it can continue its crimes to the end." It also blasted "Arab silence in the face of the plot against the Palestinian people," calling for the Arab summit in Beirut in March to "take practical measures to undo this plot."
Al-Yawm of Saudi Arabia blamed the "thoughtless bias of the United States to Israel for the escalation of violence in Palestinian Authority territories."
"The White House must deal with Yasser Arafat to bring around a solution to the crisis. The adoption of a hostile attitude towards Arafat is no longer in the interests of the United States," the paper said.
In Iraq, Ath-Thawra, mouthpiece of the ruling Baath party, accused the US administration of being a "toy in the hands of Zionism." "The administration of Bush the younger is much more an ally of the Zionist entity. It executes all its orders, including those at the expense of U.S. interests and dignity," it said.
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