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Arafat, Sharon strike moderate note
( 2002-02-04 10:34 ) (7 )

Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon each took unusual steps Sunday: the Palestinian leader pledged to stamp out Palestinian "terrorist groups," while the Israeli leader announced he would continue cease-fire talks he began last week with senior Palestinians.

Arafat, in an opinion piece in The New York Times, employed some of the strongest language he has ever used to denounce Palestinian militants who carry out bombings and shootings against Israeli civilians.

"These groups do not represent the Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations for freedom," Arafat wrote. "They are terrorist organizations, and I am determined to put an end to their activities."

Sharon, who met last Wednesday with senior Palestinian leaders for the first time since coming to power last year, said he would hold more cease-fire talks when he returns from a meeting this week with US President Bush.

"I decided to invite them in order to explain to them what they need to do" to revive peace talks, Sharon told Israeli television. "At the same time I was interested to hear what their requests were."

The two leaders, bitter enemies for decades, have routinely exchanged harsh accusations throughout the Mideast conflict. Their toned-down rhetoric offered a glimmer of hope that the two sides are serious about ending 16 months of fighting.

But some critics interpreted the moves largely as public relations efforts by a pair of leaders facing mounting difficulties.

Israel has confined Arafat to the West Bank town of Ramallah for the past two months, and the United States has demanded that the Palestinian leader do more to crack down on militants.

"I'm pleased (Arafat) condemns terrorism, and that's good. Now what we need is action against terrorism," Secretary of State Colin Powell said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Arafat has made several public statements condemning Palestinian violence against Israel in recent weeks, but Sunday's remarks were his toughest yet.

At the World Economic Forum in New York, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres welcomed Arafat's article, saying it marked the first time he indicated "that he is ready to discuss" key issues.

But Israel has dismissed Arafat's efforts to actually rein in the Palestinian militant groups as superficial at best.

"Arafat condemns terror in English, but he still calls for jihad (holy war) in Arabic," said Sharon adviser Dore Gold, referring to recent speeches that Arafat has delivered to his Palestinian supporters.

Noting that Arafat's article was aimed at a US audience, Gold said that Arafat "must sense he's in trouble in America."

US President Bush has taken an increasingly tough line with Arafat, particularly in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. The Bush administration has been weighing the possibility of cutting off contacts with Arafat, US officials have said.

Arafat did not cite any "terrorist groups" by name, and several recent shootings and a bomb attack have been carried out by the Al Aqsa Brigades, which is part of Arafat's Fatah movement. Most of the suicide bombings that have killed dozens of Israelis were carried out by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.

Arafat has been reluctant to confront Palestinian militants, and some of his own followers expressed skepticism that it would be any different this time.

Palestinian security sources in Gaza said six policemen and two bystanders were wounded north of Gaza City Sunday night in a fight between the officers and Palestinians in a car whom they suspected of planning to fire mortars at an Israeli settlement.

Two of the suspects were arrested, the sources said, while the remainder escaped, firing guns and hurling grenades at the police.

A West Bank leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades, who gave his name as Abu Mujahed, said Arafat "is under great pressure, especially from the Americans, and because of that, he describes us as terrorists."

"We have received many orders from Fatah leaders and (Palestinian) security chiefs to stop our struggle and we told them we will stop only if the Israelis stop their violence," he said.

Palestinian security sources said a Palestinian in the southern Gaza town of Rafah was in serious conditions after being struck in the head Sunday night by a shot from an Israeli army outpost near the border with Egypt. The sources said a small explosion was heard shortly before the Israelis opened fire, suggesting that there may have been an attack on the outpost.

Arafat, a frequent White House visitor when Bill Clinton was president, has not been invited since Bush assumed office a year ago while Sharon this week will be making his fourth White House visit.

Sharon had steadfastly refused to meet with Palestinian leaders amid the violence until Wednesday, when he secretly hosted a top-level Palestinian delegation, including Arafat deputy Mahmoud Abbas, at his official residence.

"What I am proposing is an arrangement for an (interim) agreement and in the end, peace," Sharon said Sunday. "I am talking about one stage where there is a development in the relationship between us and the Palestinians and afterward a cease-fire, a status of non-belligerency.

If there is progress, he said, "then we would enter a debate on a permanent agreement."

Peres has been holding talks with top Palestinian officials on the idea of establishing a Palestinian state in the existing autonomy zones comprising about half the territory the Palestinians seek in exchange for an end to violence.

While moderate and liberal Israelis welcomed Sharon's move, some hard-liners said Sharon should not be speaking to Palestinian leaders until there's calm.

Uzi Landau, the internal security minister, said the talks sent a "double message" to the Palestinians.

Nahum Barnea, a leading Israeli newspaper columnist, said Sharon and Arafat were mainly seeking short-term political gains.

"Arafat wants an exit permit from Ramallah. Sharon wants a first-class ticket to the White House," Barnea wrote in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.