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Israel to Present Objections to International Monitors Proposal
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to present US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer with Israel's reservations on a proposal raised by G8 foreign ministers to send international monitors to the region, government sources said Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, the foreign ministers from the seven industrialized nations and Russia urged Israel and the Palestinians to accept outside monitors to help stop the violence between them.
The ministers, meeting in advance before a G8 summit slated for July 20-22 in Genoa, Italy this weekend, stressed in a statement after their two-day meeting that the implementation of the recommendations published in May by an international fact-finding committee on the violence was "the only way to break the deadlock, to stop the escalation and to secure the political process."
"We believe that in these circumstances, third party monitoring, accepted by both parties, would serve their interests in implementing the Mitchell report," the statement said.
In response, Sharon's media adviser Ra'anan Gissin told Israel Radio that the Jewish state, who opposes such a proposal from the beginning, would not accept an international observing force for " both practical reasons and reason on principle."
The G8 includes the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.
The G8 statement was "a wrong decision at the wrong time," Gissin asserted, adding that an international force would not be a "magical form" to end the violence, which had lasted for nearly 10 months and left over 600 people dead, most of them Palestinians.
He claimed that Israel opposes any efforts to internationalizing the violence in the region and fears that the Palestinians would continue their attacks against Israeli "under the protection of an international force."
"Observers could only be useful if both sides have an agreement on the implementation of the ceasefire, and there has to be observance of the ceasefire," Gissin stressed, "Unfortunately and regrettably, I must say that there has been no ceasefire at all as the Palestinians continue their violence and incitement."
He added that Israel has "terrible experiences" in the past with the United Nations observers, referring to Israel's recent brawl with the U.N. for a videotape it claimed could enhance its chance to rescue three Israeli soldiers kidnapped last October by Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, or Party of God.
Earlier Thursday, Israel's Ha'aretz daily reported that the European Union and the United States are considering an initiative to set up a "liaison mechanism" to oversee the ceasefire between the Palestinians and Israel and the implementation of the international fact-finding committee's report, or the Mitchell report.
The proposal for the mechanism is expected to be raised during the G8 summit, the report said.
However, Gissin hinted that Israel would oppose such an idea, as there has already a liaison mechanism in the form of security coordination among Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. security officials.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli opposition leader Yossi Sarid called on the government to accept the proposal for international observers to monitor the ceasefire with the Palestinians and the implementation of the Mitchell report.
The presence of international monitors is vital because without their presence, it would be impossible to keep future agreements as there is no trust between the Israelis and Palestinians, said Sarid, leader of the leftist Meretz Party.
Moreover, a "reliable and balanced third party" will assist in rebuilding the trust between the two sides, he added.
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