The new Palestinian security chief said Friday he wants to "put an end" to militias involved in shooting and bombing attacks on Israelis.
Gen. Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, who was appointed interior minister, said he would first engage in dialogue with the armed groups. "We should put an end to all the militias. We should end it completely," Yehiyeh said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I will not agree in any way to pollute the name of the Palestinian people with terrorism," Yehiyeh said.
However, the Israeli army's chief of staff said Friday that as long as Yasser Arafat is in charge, there would be no meaningful reform inside the Palestinian Authority. "This effort he is leading is only for show," said Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz said of Arafat's decision to streamline his cabinet and make other reforms.
He added that Yihiyeh "is not going to control and fight terrorism" because he is too close to the Palestinian leader. Mofaz, who retires next month after 36 years in the army, told the Washington Institute, a Mideast think tank, there can be no progress on the political front until the Palestinian Authority is rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush is set to make public his intention to propose a Palestinian state - but the timetable, borders and nature of the nascent state are still far from clear. The New York Times reported Friday that White House officials are working on a speech for the President, to be delivered next week, in which he is inclined to lay out his proposal for the advancement of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The centerpiece of the plan that Bush will present is a provisional Palestinian state - an idea Bush discussed in his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Thursday. The precondition for such a state's establishment will be the fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority, under international supervision, in three areas: governance methods, security services and financial administration. The American message to the Palestinians will be that the sooner reforms are implemented, the sooner a Palestinian state will be declared.
The NY Times reported Friday that, during his meeting with Prince Saud, Bush indicated he had decided to propose the plan, probably next week, in an attempt to help contain Middle East violence and give some immediate hope to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
Quoting "officials familiar with the talks," the newspaper reported that the U.S. president did not provide all of the details of his plan in the 20-minute meeting with the Saudi minister, but indicated it was designed to help quell violence and hold Palestinian leaders to a high standard of accountability. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
