JERUSALEM,
April 5 (Islamonline.net & News Agencies) - Israel will dump the
internationally drafted "roadmap" for Middle East peace if
its amendments are rejected, a key aide of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
said Saturday, April 5, ahead of a trip to Washington aimed at
discussing the changes.
"We
will submit 15 remarks on the roadmap to the United States and if we
find that a refusal of our proposed changes could jeopardize Israel's
security, we will not accept it (the roadmap)," Dov Weisglass
told public radio.
The
"remarks" mainly concerned "the dismantlement and
disarmament of so-called terrorist organizations, the creation of new
Palestinian security services which are not implicated in terrorism
but, on the contrary, combat it under the supervision of the Interior
Ministry and a Palestinian Prime Minister", Weisglass alleged,
Agence-France-Press reported.
"On
these issues we will not make any concessions and, if we have to, we
will leave the negotiating table and come home," he added.
Weisglas
is due to travel to Washington next week to put the points to the
Americans, the radio announced, once Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom have
approved the final draft on Sunday.
The
"roadmap" will be published after the formation of a new
Palestinian government under Mahmud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen,
Weisglass said.
Deputy
leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Abu Mazen was
designated as the first Palestinian prime minister by Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat on March 19.
"When
he takes power, Abu Mazen must clearly show that he is making constant
efforts in the war against terrorism," Weisglass claimed.
"We
must give him time, and we know that he is opposed to having recourse
to terrorism to achieve political ends."
Weisglass
also confirmed reports that the United States had suggested Israel
take "humanitarian" measures in regard to the Palestinians,
in order to give Abu Mazen its backing.
"It
is a realistic demand, but we must take account of our security
requirements," he added, rejecting such calls.
"We
will negotiate with Abu Mazen when he announces his government and, if
he is moving in the right direction, Israel will reply immediately by
moving in the same direction, so that his success will also be
ours," claimed Weisglass.
On
the question of an end to Jewish settlement activity in the occupied
territories as demanded by the United States, Weisglass said he was
"convinced an agreement can be found" with Washington, but
said the whole question of the settlements "will come under
discussion in the final phase once the Palestinians have fulfilled
their promises on the dismantling of terrorist organizations,".
US
President George W. Bush has repeatedly promised that he will shortly
publish the so-called "roadmap" for peace drawn up by the
US, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, which includes
plans for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
Sharon
has approved the initiative but insists he is not prepared to accept
it in its present form.
Weisglass
also threatened to exclude Britain from the negotiations with the
Palestinians after London drew a parallel between the conflict in
Palestine and the war in Iraq.
"A
country adopting a position with as little balance over the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict as Britain is cannot expect to be
listened to," he said.
"We
reject this parallel and treat it with disdain. It is a pity that
Britain is distancing itself from playing a part in the resolution of
our conflict by taking a stance as extremist as it is strange."