|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. urges Israel: 'Don't make things more difficult'
From Elise Labott
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration Friday urged the Jewish state to restore calm and refrain from steps that focus attention on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, U.S. officials said Friday. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, "Israel has the right to defend itself and to deal with security, but Israel also has a need to bear in mind the consequences of action and Israel's stake in development of reforms in the Palestinian institutions." Even so, U.S. officials acknowledge that there are Palestinian militants holed up inside the Ramallah compound wanted by Israel and that Israel needs to take some action in response to the two suicide bombings this week that left seven dead.
Fresh explosions and heavy machine gun fire erupted at Arafat's compound in Ramallah late Friday as Israel besieged the area. A Palestinian official inside Arafat's main office building said that building was among those under fire. U.S. officials voice concern that the Israeli military operation could aggravate U.S. efforts to foster Palestinian reform and could further isolate Arafat from the political equation. "We are saying don't make things more difficult," one senior State Department official said. "We had some positive developments for a while, the violence has been down and there is a real movement within Palestinian society for reform and a new leadership. Think about the long-term process and the potential long-term success on the security initiatives we are working on." The United States has contacted both the Israeli foreign ministry and the embassy in Washington "for clarification on the objectives" of launching attacks on Arafat, the officials said. "We are trying to get answers from the Israelis on what they want to achieve with this, but it is tough getting answers," the official said. "They just tell us that this is something that needs to be done." The State Department official said the message was passed to the Israelis that "the actions you are taking once again make Arafat the issue," which could result in Arafat gaining new support from the Palestinian people. "Is he irrelevant or not," the official asked. "Here there are steps being taken for Palestinian reform independent of Arafat and you are in danger of reversing the process." On Tuesday, U.S., U.N., Russian and European officials outlined a three-stage plan to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that combines new Palestinian elections and political reform with a concrete time-frame for a Palestinian state in three years. The plan authored by officials who make up what is referred to as the "Quartet" also calls for Israel to take steps to improve the lives of Palestinians -- including lifting curfews and economic restrictions and an end to Israeli settlement activity in the Palestinian territories.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
