The Bush administration is making last-minute efforts to persuade the Israeli government that it must deal with Yasser Arafat even as the Israelis are conducting a sustained campaign to discredit him, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will depart Sunday morning for a four-day visit to Washington, described as "crucial to the diplomatic process," during which he will present to U.S. President George W. Bush his plan for an interim agreement with the Palestinians that calls for replacing Yasser Arafat.
The dueling campaigns come as both sides prepare for a meeting in Washington between Bush and Sharon on Tuesday. The immediate challenge for Bush, one senior foreign policy aide said, is to "convince the Israelis it's in their long-term interest to deal with Arafat, no matter how reprehensible he may be."
But in recent days, the Israeli officials have been campaigning to dismiss Arafat and the Palestinian Authority as a plausible negotiating partner, based on documents seized in Israeli raids on the West Bank, and interrogations of some 1,800 Palestinians arrested during the offensive.
According to the paper, Israeli intelligence officials have briefed their counterparts in Washington on evidence purporting to show that the Palestinian Authority presides over a “terrorist” network, one that plans, finances and executes its own suicide bombings against civilians, and cooperates with militant Islamic groups.
Israel has posted some of the documents on its government Web site. The Palestinians challenge the authenticity of the documents. White House officials say that even if the documents are convincing, they do not remove the political necessity to work with Mr. Arafat under the kind of peace plan that Mr. Bush is trying to pursue with the help of friendly Arab countries.
Sharon, who arrives in Washington late on Sunday, is predicted to argue that Bush's endeavors to broker peace are doomed as long as they depend on the Palestinian leader.
Before Sharon's departure from Israel, administration officials have been in intense discussions with their Israeli counterparts about how to make the hour-long meeting on Tuesday successful.
Before meeting the American leader, Sharon is planned to meet a variety of administration officials, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
