Arafat’s exit could revive peace talks

JERUSALEM – Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s failing health and the Israeli parliament’s approval of a plan to evacuate Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip may usher in a new period of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, analysts say.

“The serious deterioration of Arafat’s health seems to write out the leader of the orchestra politic,” wrote editorialist Zeev Schiff in Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper. In what was a decisive week, Israel’s Knesset voted through Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip and four isolated settlements in the West Bank, 37 years after their occupation.Two days later, the man who many Israelis considered their worst enemy, or at least an absolute obstacle to peace, was air-lifted out of his West Bank base for medical treatment in Paris for a potentially fatal blood disease.In addition, this week’s US presidential election may see the victor re-evaluate White House relations with a new Palestinian leadership.Israeli commentators believe that all these factors may aid an improvement in relations between Sharon’s administration and Arafat’s successors — particularly former premier Mahmud Abbas and current incumbent Ahmed Qorei.Peace talks, which collapsed with the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, may also restart, they suggest.”The situation may change, dialogue may resume, but it will take time,” said Shlomo Avineri, a political scientist at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.For some time, both Sharon and US President George W Bush, who is standing for re-election, have made any resumption of negotiations dependent on a clear Palestinian stance against terrorism.But on Friday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell refused to speculate what Arafat’s possible death or retirement would have on the peace process.”We have said, for a long period of time, that we believe the Palestinian people would be better off with an empowered prime minister who has political authority and who has control of the security forces,” he said.Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom has said his country would negotiate with a new Palestinian leadership as soon as it renounces terrorism.”Little by little (Sharon may) find he has a partner in leaving the Gaza Strip, allowing him to return to the ‘roadmap’ peace plan with European and US support,” said professor Menahem Klein, an Arab-Israeli conflict specialist.”Israel is likely to hear from Europe and others that it should reopen negotiations with the new Palestinian leadership over the disengagement plan,” Schiff also wrote in Haaretz.But Klein was not convinced that the trenchant prime minister would come to heel.”Sharon could get out of it by saying that after all Arafat is not the only obstacle to peace and that the new Palestinian leadership adopts the same route as its president, that of terrorism.And that would bring us into chaos.”In the meantime, and while Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still threatening to resign unless the Gaza disengagement plan is submitted to a referendum, Sharon can adopt a low-profile.On Saturday, public radio also reported that the foreign ministry has advised the government against launching any large-scale military operations while Arafat is away in order not to exacerbate violence.- Nampa-APIn what was a decisive week, Israel’s Knesset voted through Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip and four isolated settlements in the West Bank, 37 years after their occupation.Two days later, the man who many Israelis considered their worst enemy, or at least an absolute obstacle to peace, was air-lifted out of his West Bank base for medical treatment in Paris for a potentially fatal blood disease.In addition, this week’s US presidential election may see the victor re-evaluate White House relations with a new Palestinian leadership.Israeli commentators believe that all these factors may aid an improvement in relations between Sharon’s administration and Arafat’s successors — particularly former premier Mahmud Abbas and current incumbent Ahmed Qorei.Peace talks, which collapsed with the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, may also restart, they suggest.”The situation may change, dialogue may resume, but it will take time,” said Shlomo Avineri, a political scientist at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.For some time, both Sharon and US President George W Bush, who is standing for re-election, have made any resumption of negotiations dependent on a clear Palestinian stance against terrorism.But on Friday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell refused to speculate what Arafat’s possible death or retirement would have on the peace process.”We have said, for a long period of time, that we believe the Palestinian people would be better off with an empowered prime minister who has political authority and who has control of the security forces,” he said.Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom has said his country would negotiate with a new Palestinian leadership as soon as it renounces terrorism.”Little by little (Sharon may) find he has a partner in leaving the Gaza Strip, allowing him to return to the ‘roadmap’ peace plan with European and US support,” said professor Menahem Klein, an Arab-Israeli conflict specialist.”Israel is likely to hear from Europe and others that it should reopen negotiations with the new Palestinian leadership over the disengagement plan,” Schiff also wrote in Haaretz.But Klein was not convinced that the trenchant prime minister would come to heel.”Sharon could get out of it by saying that after all Arafat is not the only obstacle to peace and that the new Palestinian leadership adopts the same route as its president, that of terrorism.And that would bring us into chaos.”In the meantime, and while Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still threatening to resign unless the Gaza disengagement plan is submitted to a referendum, Sharon can adopt a low-profile.On Saturday, public radio also reported that the foreign ministry has advised the government against launching any large-scale military operations while Arafat is away in order not to exacerbate violence.- Nampa-AP