Saturday, September 07, 2002
For Israel, Oslo accords no longer exist: Sharon
Agence France-Presse Jerusalem, September 06
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview published on Friday that for Israel, the 1993 Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians no longer exist.
Speaking to the Maariv daily to mark the Jewish New Year, Sharon said the same fate had befallen the offers made by his predecessor Ehud Barak at talks in Camp David in the United States and Taba in Egypt in 2000.
"Oslo doesn't exist any more, Camp David doesn't exist any more, neither does Taba. We will not return to these places," he told the mass-circulation daily.
"Real damage only occurs when it is impossible to go back. But this is not the case. Apparently God has come to our aid. It is not because of the wisdom of the Jews, but solely because of the bad plans the Palestinians made," he said.
"Since the beginning, (Palestinian leader) Yasser Arafat's aim has been to bring about the end of Israel. There were some naive people, or people who wanted to be led on, or made wrong assessments," Sharon said.
"The problem is more fundamental than terrorism. It stems from the Arab and Palestinian refusal to recognise the Jewish people's right to exist in their state and their homeland."
"The Palestinians were convinced we were incapable of taking the blow. But the fact is we have not been broken, and if they could, they would neutralise Arafat and stop him exerting any influence on their security or financial apparatus."
The right-wing premier also played down diplomatic efforts by the Israeli left to revive political negotiations for peace.
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