Ariel Sharon has laid out his terms for Palestinian independence with a vision of an emasculated and demilitarised state built on less than half the land of the occupied territories, and without Yasser Arafat as its leader.
Palestinian leaders swiftly denounced the proposals as unworkable, saying that nothing less than a return to pre-1967 borders was acceptable. Israeli politicians were also critical, with the far right accusing Sharon of laying the ground for a ”terrorist state” while the left said he was playing politics ahead of next month’s general election.
The Israeli prime minister set out his most detailed thinking on the issue in a speech to an annual security conference in which he pledged support for George Bush’s ”road map” that envisions a Palestinian state within three years.
”Israel will allow the establishment of a Palestinian state with temporary borders,” he said. These would be defined by the 42% of the West Bank that falls under direct Palestinian administration under the Oslo agreement — known as Areas A and B — ”except for areas vital for security”, and 70% of the Gaza strip.
Sharon said the Palestinian state will not be permitted an army, Israel will control its borders and airspace, and its foreign policy would effectively be open to Israeli veto.
”The Palestinian state will be demilitarised. It will be able to have police with light weapons,” he said.
The prime minister sought to head off accusations that his government wants to turn an independent Palestine into a patchwork quilt reminiscent of apartheid South Africa, by saying a final deal would allow Palestinians to move freely in the new state without submitting to Israeli checkpoints.
Yesterday Sharon expanded on his speech on Wednesday by telling journalists he would not rule out shutting Jewish settlements in the occupied territories as part of a final agreement.
But he did not commit himself to President Bush’s three-year timetable, saying the Palestinians would have to meet a series of demands before talks on the creation of a state could even begin. Among them is a repeat of his insistence that no deal is possible while Arafat remains head of the Palestinian Authority.
”This man is not and never will be a partner to peace. He does not want peace,” he said. ”The achievement of true coexistence must be carried out, first and foremost, by the replacement of the Palestinian leadership which has lied and disappointed, with different leadership which can — and more importantly — is willing to achieve real peace with Israel.”
A Palestinian representative, Saeb Erekat, said Sharon’s terms could not be taken seriously: ”I think he’s continuing the game of deceit. This will not fly. There has to be withdrawal to the 1967 borders.”
Right-wing politicians were also critical. The leader of the National Religious party, Effi Eitam, said a Palestinian state poses a threat to Israel’s existence. The left accused the Israeli leader of electioneering ahead of next month’s ballot which is expected to give Sharon a second term.
”In recent weeks, Sharon has come to understand what the public wants, and on the eve of elections, he is willing to join anything in words and in slogans,” the opposition Labour candidate, Amram Mitzna, said.
Sharon has continued his unilateral imposition of what many see as a new de facto border inside the 1967 green line by approving construction of the next stage of the security fence dividing Israel from the West Bank.
The latest 43-kilometre section will be built along the northern part of the West Bank. When complete, the fence is expected to run to nearly 400-kilometres. It is expected to cost about one-million pounds per mile.
But Sharon insisted that political concessions already made under the Oslo accords were ”not retractable”. He said that although soldiers now occupy almost every major Palestinian town, his government does not intend to control permanently those areas it was obliged to withdraw from.
”The current reality, in which the [Israeli army] acts freely in the Palestinian cities is a result of the security situation and is not a change in the political situation from two years ago,” he said. ”Israel will not re-control territories from which it withdrew as a result of political agreements.” – Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001