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Israel's Sharon Reveals Stances on Key Issues in Peace-making
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has revealed his ideas on how he would approach the key issues related to peace-making in the region, including the future of Jewish settlements, the status of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and Palestinian statehood.
In an interview to be published Thursday on Israel's leading publication Ha'aretz, Sharon said that he has no intention whatsoever of evacuating Jewish settlements.
He believes that the presence of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is both of historical and strategic importance.
"Is it possible at this time to relinquish control over the mountain aquifer, which provides us with a third of our water? Is it possible to give up the frontier area in the Jordan Valley? In any case, the settlements will sit where they are. They guard both the birthplace of the Jewish people and also grant us essential strategic depth to protect our existence."
With regards to the nature of a future accord on Jerusalem, Sharon says that "we have no right to make concessions in Jerusalem. We simply have no right."
In view of a peace agreement with Syrians, Sharon said, "We cannot come down from the Golan Heights."
Withdrawing from the Golan, the strategic plateau which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War or the Jordan Valley to the east of Israel would be a "real existential threat," he said.
Asked about what Israel would respond to a unilateral declaration of statehood by Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Sharon said that would be a "major mistake" on the part of Arafat.
"The previous government (of Benjamin Netanyahu) in which I was a member, and also the government of (Ehud) Barak, held a clear position on this matter. It would demand that we take a series of steps to keep in our hands areas essential for us," he said.
Such a move on the Palestinian side, Sharon said, will lead to Israel's annexation of the Jewish settlements and the security zones.
Sharon believes that "there is a need for every effort in order to reach a solution to the conflict without endangering Israel."
Unlike Barak, who strived for securing a comprehensive final agreement which would end the century-old Israeli-Palestinian disputes, Sharon opposes attempts to settle the conflicts in one bid.
"I do not believe that it is possible, with a single stroke, to end a conflict that has lasted 120 years. And I do not think there is any need to set an ambitious goal, such as the immediate signing of a peace treaty."
Sharon said "an end to the conflict will be achieved only when the Arab world recognizes the right of the Jewish people to its homeland, to exist in an independent Jewish state in the Middle East. And such recognition has still not happened."
As to whether he himself has changed, Sharon, who is seen by many in the Arab world as a war monger for his role in the 1982 Lebanon War, said he has not changed his world view. The only change in his positions is his view of Jordan as Palestine.
Sharon said he now accepts the existence of a Palestinian state along with Jordan due to the reality on the ground. "I never believed there should be two Palestinian states. That is the sole change that has taken place in my positions."
Sharon, who came to power a month ago, has insisted that Israel will not negotiate under fire and that he would resume negotiations with the Palestinians and Syrians with no preconditions.
The Palestinians, however, have demanded any resumption of peace talks be based on where they left off with the previous government and on a comprehensive settlement of the final status issues.
The Syrians, whose peace talks with Israel broke off in January 2000, have refused to reopen negotiations unless the Israelis have agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights.
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