Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat accused Israel of having killed some 500 Palestinians in its West Bank offensive, saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had gone "crazy."
"There are 500 Palestinians killed in the last 12 days in the West Bank, there is a major Israeli crime going on in the West Bank against our society," he told AFP.
Israeli sources claimed the total number of Palestinian deaths in the West Bank operation was "over 200."
Erakat also accused Israeli forces of carrying out summary executions of Palestinian prisoners in the northern West Bank town of Jenin's refugee camp. Jenin fell to the army after a week of hard fighting on Wednesday. "Today (Wednesday) the Israelis assassinated eight Palestinians in Jenin. They had surrendered to the army and they (the army) shot them," Erakat said.
"Sharon is making war against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership to kill all Palestinians and destroy the Palestinian people. This war will not help the Israeli people. Sharon has gone crazy," Erakat said.
Erekat added that only after the Israeli withdrew from Palestinian cities in the West Bank it would be possible to reach a cease-fire. "Only after a full withdrawal will it be possible to discuss reaching a cease-fire," he said.
Earlier in the day, U.S. negotiator Anthony Zinni met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. The two discussed the preparations to be made in light of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's upcoming visit. Following the meeting, the Palestinian leader met with his senior aides for the first time since Israel decided to “isolate” him in Ramallah.
His aides, including Erekat, Palestinian Preventive Security Chief in the Gaza Strip Mohammed Dahlan and Intelligence Chief Amin al-Hindi, later held meeting with Zinni.
For his part, Powell said that it was "important" for him to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
"It's important for me to meet Chairman Arafat. He is the leader of the Palestinian people," he said at a joint news conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique. "I hope there will be no difficulty arranging a meeting with Chairman Arafat," he added. "If we are going to move forward this meeting is important."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he believed a meeting between Powell and Arafat would be "a mistake." But Powell said: "We would like to see Arafat given more space and access to communication facilities so he can be in contact with other Palestinian leaders."
Asked his reaction to Sharon's comments that "there should be no pressure" from the United States to end its West Bank offensive, Powell said: "I understand the pressure Israel is under.
"We believe the best way of easing this tension, the best way of moving forward, and to provide a solution to the situation we find ourselves in, is for the withdrawal of Israel and Israeli forces, and the President (George W. Bush) has been reinforcing that policy every day." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
