|
Arabs Talk Peace, Sharon Prepares “All-Out War”
 |
|
Arabs declared peace as their strategic choice |
BEIRUT, March 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – While the Arab leaders, set to meet in Beirut hours from now, declared it clear and loud that peace was “Arab’s strategic choice”, Israel is preparing for a major assault on Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps.
The main item of the Arab summit agenda is the Saudi peace initiave, according to official statements from almost all the Arab capitals.
A leaked draft resolution of the Arab summit called for an Israeli withdrawal from all Arab areas occupied since June 1967, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and territories still occupied in south Lebanon.
The summit in the Lebanese capital on Wednesday and Thursday will focus on Saudi proposals for normal relations with Israel in return for a total Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands seized in the 1967 war.
However, Israeli military planners are preparing for a major assault on Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps that would be broader and deeper than the offensive undertaken earlier this month, according to a Washington Post report, published Monday, citing Israeli officials.
The officials, not identified by the U.S. daily newspaper, expressed pessimism that the talks (currently underway with the Palestinians) would lead to a durable end to violence and terrorist attacks against Israelis.
 |
|
Sharon
is reportedly preparing to reoccupy Palestinian territories.
|
According to the paper, there is widespread and growing support both in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government and in the Israeli army for what one official called a "comprehensive military confrontation" with the Palestinians.
"The next days might be crucial, because if we don't succeed [in the cease-fire talks], we may come to the conclusion that there is no hope, and we have to choose the other way," a highly placed Israeli official told the Post.
The Israeli warnings seem designed to prepare domestic and international public opinion for a new round of aggressions against the Palestinians, to force the Palestinian Authority to crack down on resistance groups and accede to Israel's terms for a truce.
The paper went on to say that Sharon's dilemma is that as Israeli and Palestinian casualties have in recent months increased, his popularity has plummetted.
Observers, in the Middle East, widely believe that the 74-year-old hawkish leader does not have a strategy to extricate the region from one of its deepest crises.
When Sharon pleaded with Israelis last month to prepare for a drawn-out struggle, his ratings dipped further. When he also announced last month that his policy was to inflict heavy losses on the Palestinians so they would drop demands unacceptable to Israel, some moderates in his coalition rebeled.
Still, during the past 18 months of Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation, characterized by a steady escalation of violence, Israeli officials frequently resorted to harsh military action. This seems to be their desire now, except that they want it an all-out war against a defenceless people.
For instance, early last year, top Israeli generals and officials began speaking openly about the possibility of thrusts into Palestinian-held territory - a scenario that was then considered drastic.
When Israeli forces made their first incursion, there was an international outcry, including harsh criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Over time, however, the incursions became routine, the Post reported.
Early this year, Israeli senior officials started talking about raids on Palestinian refugee camps, which until then had been regarded as dangerous and off-limits.
On January 21, Sharon said Israel would adopt "totally different tactics" if the Palestinians fired homemade rockets into Israeli territory, which they did five days later, causing no casualties.
On February 28, the Israeli army attacked the Balata refugee camp near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. In subsequent days, several other camps were attacked - including the largest, Jabalya, in the Gaza Strip. This was the widest and most dangerous Israeli violation of Palestinian occupied territories since 1967.
The Israeli assault did little, if any, to dent the Palestinians' will or ability to resist the Israeli occupation forces.
According to the Post, the Israelis are now talking of more aggressive military action. Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, the army chief of staff, said Israel's offensive was incomplete.
There is a widely held view in the Israeli army and security circles that the only way to stop attacks on Israelis is to occupy the Palestinian areas where the attackers (Palestinian resistance activists) live and operate - though even that provides no guarantee, officials acknowledge.
With additional reporting by Khaled Mamdouh, IOL Staff
|
