Haaretz
Tishrei 23, 5765
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu
Ala) yesterday expressed dismay over remarks by the prime minister's
adviser, Dov Weisglass, that the significance of the disengagement plan is
the freezing of the peace process. The remarks by Weisglass - a top aide
to Ariel Sharon - were made in an interview with Haaretz that appears in
full today; excerpts were published Wednesday.
Abu Ala, said
yesterday that Weisglass' remarks oblige Israel to reconsider its policies
in the territories, and the U.S. and international community to redefine
their demands of Israel if they would like to see a genuine peace process
in the Middle East. He refrained from accusing the U.S. of coordinating
positions with Sharon but queried whether its policy on disengagement was
"innocent."
Q: Mr. Prime Minister, how did you feel when you read
the interview with Weisglass?
A: "It was a shock to me. The remarks
by Dov Weisglass - I must stress I have not seen the full interview but
only the excerpts - are grave and shed new light on the Israeli propaganda
according to which there is no Palestinian partner for a peace process.
The question to be asked now is, more specifically, whether there is an
Israeli partner for peace because it is clear that the Israeli government
has applied a policy that is opposed to the peace process and has been
undermining the dream of two nations to reach a
settlement.
Weisglass is not the man-on-the-street. He is a top
Sharon aide and the engineer of the disengagement plan, and he is the one
who discussed it with the Americans. The question is whether his remarks
reflect things that have already happened or rather plans for the future.
Did they plan to open the door to peace [via the plan - A.R.] or to the
violence and counter-violence we are now witnessing here? On the other
hand, those who are actually implementing the present Israeli policy in
the West Bank recently are legitimizing and giving meaning to Weisglass'
remarks. In view of the remarks, what is the significance of the building
in the settlements that was due to have stopped immediately after the
appearance of the road map? What is the significance of building the
separation fence?
"All attempts to calm the situation in the
territories have ended in assassinations and escalation. The Israeli
government has put the average Palestinian in a state of confusion.
I want to stress that no Palestinian will ever accept this
Weisglassian logic. The only thing that is acceptable is an honest and
just peace based on the road map. If the Americans want to maintain
friendly relations with the Palestinians, Weisglass' remarks place an
enormous responsibility on them to express their true position without
camouflaging or disguising it. This also obliges the Israeli peace camp to
organize its ranks and speak up. The Israeli peace camp must take a clear
stand.
Q."What is the practical significance of Weisglass'
remarks?
A."They put all the legitimation of the peace process in a
different light. If indeed they want legitimation for the process, it is
necessary now to fix a clear timetable for negotiations and discussions of
the issues involved in a final settlement.
Any withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip - and now I have doubts whether there is indeed an intention to
withdraw - has to be part of the road map in the practical and not the
theoretical sense, and has to be connected with what will happen after
that. The Quartet and the international community have to define this
clearly and the Israeli leadership must define for itself if it is
interested in peace or not."
Q:Since the publication of the plan,
the U.S. Britain and the international community have claimed that the
withdrawal from Gaza will actually give impetus to the peace process, but
now it appears the motives may have been different. Do you think the U.S.
and Britain were aware of the real Israeli intentions?
A. It is
hard for me to attribute innocence to the Americans; they are not like
that. They should have received written assurances from the Israeli
government about a timetable for applying the road map and the resumption
of negotiations with the Palestinians after the withdrawal, in order to
really achieve peace. I personally had doubts that the unilateral
disengagement from Gaza was part of a more comprehensive
process."