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Sharon: No wish to rule Palestinians
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 11:08
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a U.N. summit on Thursday that the
Palestinians are entitled to their own state, and his country has no desire to
rule over them, AP reported.
Sharon urged reconciliation and compromise with Palestinians to end their
conflict. But he said that after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, it was
now up to the Palestinians to "prove their desire for peace" by putting a halt
to terror and disarming militants.
"The Palestinians will always be our neighbors. We respect them and have no
aspiration to rule over them," Sharon said, using unusually forceful language.
"They are also entitled to freedom, and to a national, sovereign existence in
a state of their own," he said.
The General Assembly hall gave Sharon courteous applause when he finished his
speech. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa sat with his arms folded
over his chest.
"We invite Sharon to resume negotiations including the issues of borders,
refugees and Jerusalem, because peace is the way for Israel and Palestinians to
live in dignity and security," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said later
Thursday.
The Palestinians are afraid Sharon won't take the Gaza withdrawal forward to
broader peacemaking that would lead to a Palestinian state. They suspect he will
instead use it to tighten Israel's grip on major West Bank settlement blocs.
In his speech, Sharon told the General Assembly that the Gaza pullout "opens
a window of opportunity for advancing toward peace," on the basis of the
long-stalled, U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.
The plan foundered shortly after its introduction two years ago because both
sides failed to comply with initial provisions: Israel continued to build
settlements, and the Palestinians didn't disarm militant factions.
While adopting a conciliatory tone to the Palestinians, Sharon also drew red
lines. He reasserted Israel's claims to disputed Jerusalem as its "eternal and
united capital," and said Israel would finish building a contentious barrier
that dips into the West Bank.
Palestinians see the eastern sector of Jerusalem as the capital of a future
state, and the competing claims have made the city one of the most contentious
issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
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