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Middle East : Arafat’s Letter to Vajpayee |
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Just as pressure is building on Israeli prime Minister Ahud Barak and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, to reach an agreement within the parameters of the formula suggested by President Clinton which makes sufficiently large concessions to the Palestinians, Mr. Arafat has sought active help of India to resolve the present crisis. In a letter to Prime Minister Vajpayee, which has been described in political quarters as detailed in content and highly warm in tone, specifies ways in which New Delhi could play a useful role.
Mr. Arafat has listed three areas in which India could use its weight and infleuce for resolving tensions in West Asia - one, it could be of help in the Non-Aligned Movement and at the UN, in ensuring expeditious functioning of the fact-finding mission, set up at the October summit in Egypt; two, it could use its influence in the creation of an observers force under the auspices of the UN; and three, it could throw its weight behind efforts for honest implementation of the UN resolutions on the Palestine-Israel problem and thus help revive the peace process.
The letter is said to be a sequel to inquiries by India as to how it could help resolve the crisis, as have repeatedly been stated by Mr. Arafat in is statements. Some time back, Mr. K.V. Rajan, Secretary, External Affairs Ministry, during is visit to West Asia, called on Mr. Arafat and gave him a letter from Mr. Vajpayee. The Prime Minister’s letter, it seems, sought elaboration of the Palestinian leader’s suggestions about India’s role.
US-brokered peace deal
Mr. Clinton, on the last leg of his Presidency put forward a plan accepted by Ehud Barak, fighting a losing election battle for Prime Ministership against Ariel Sharon, but cold-shouldered by Mr. Arafat. Much hoped was pinned on the Barak-Arafat summit hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at Sharam el Sheikh on Dec. 28 and a concrete agreement was expected to emerge from the talks presided over by Mr. Mubarak. However, at the last moment, the summit was called off and Barak and Arafat remained as far apart as they were before. Mr. Barak decided to back out of the Egyptian summit summit following strong objections from the Palestinians to some aspects of the Clinton formula which the US modestly described as a “set of ideas” which Mr. Barak accepted in principle. Mr. Arafat in a letter just before the deadline for response set by President Clinton ended, neither said no nor yes, Mr. Barak welcomed the proposals and gave his conditional acceptance. Palestinian officials, however, rejected the peace deal as it did not fulfill the UN revolutions. The Clinton proposal did not include “right to return” of Arab refugees to West Bank and handing over of territory by Israel which Palestinians lost in the 1967 war, conditions steadfastly stressed by Palestinians and rejected by Israel.
Mr. Clinton, anxious to sew up a peace deal before he leaves office on Jan. 20, had put forth definite proposals last week-end. He set the Wednesday deadline for the two sides to respond after the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meeting in Washington failed to make any headway.
The Clinton proposals include: Israel will concede control of the Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, including the Muslim, Armenian and Christian quarters of the walled Old City. Palestinians would also have control over the disputed Al Aqsa mosque compound in the old City, a highly charged site sacred to both Muslims and Jews. A Palestinian state would be established on 95 per cent of the West bank and 100 per cent of the Gaza Strip. Israel would be sovereign over the remaining 5 per cent of the West Bank which includes Jewish settlement blocs. A special body would be established to deal with Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven out in the past wars. Most refugees would be settled in the countries where they currently reside. Only a limited number would be permitted to resettle inside Israel.
While the Palestinians rejected the proposals mainly because it does not grant right to all Palestinian refugees to return to their country, Israel expected the Palestinians to scale back their demands on the “right of return” for millions of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in the Middle East wars. Opinion polls, however, showed the Israelis divided on such a deal with 46 per cent of them against terms and 43 willing to accept them. The polls indicated that 60 per cent support Israel’s ceding control of the Arab neigbourhoods in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians including most of the walled old city. However, 57 per cent of the Al Aqsa mosque compound to the Palestinians a site sacred to both Muslims and news.
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