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Newsletter : 1fax0207.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Feb. 7, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 22
Arik Melech Yisrael
Barak Concedes Defeat to Sharon
By Laurie Kassman (VOA-Jerusalem)
Ehud Barak has conceded defeat in Israel's special election for prime minister, congratulating the projected winner, Likud Party leader Ariel (Arik) Sharon.
Barak appeared at his Labor party headquarters to acknowledge defeat. "We have lost the battle," he said, "but we are going to win the war." He said he has resigned as head of the Labor party. But, he does not rule out forging a unity government under Sharon.
Most voters said they were frustrated by Barak's handling of peace talks with the Palestinians and his apparent willingness to make concessions on land and sovereignty over Jerusalem.
A dejected Barak supporter in Jerusalem just shrugged her shoulders when she heard the news. "Tomorrow morning, everything will be the same. We go to work. We do whatever we do every day," she said.
The concession speech by Israel's outgoing prime minister came after Israeli television predicted a landslide victory for the hawkish Sharon. Barak also says he will resign as Labor party leader and a member of parliament after the new government is formed.
Exit polls from Tuesday's election gave Sharon at least 59 percent of the vote for prime minister, against 40 percent for Barak. Election officials say voter turnout of 62 percent was very low for an Israeli election.
Earlier Tuesday, more rioting broke out in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers as Israeli voters went to the polls.
Aides to Sharon say Barak has been offered the post of defense minister in a unity government. Barak says this offer will be considered. Barak also says he forged the correct path for peace with Palestinians. But Israeli voters, he says, are apparently not ready to pay the price for peace.
The election was seen by many as a referendum on approaches to peace with the Palestinians, with supporters of Sharon rejecting the concessions that Barak says are necessary for a peace agreement.
Barak set the stage for the special election when he resigned two months ago saying he needed a new mandate amid criticism over his handling of Palestinian-Israeli violence and peace negotiations. Up to 400 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed since the Palestinian uprising began last September.
Once Israeli TV announced the results, Sharon supporters at Likud Party headquarters broke into loud cheers.
Palestinian officials say they will deal with Ariel Sharon if he is ready to talk peace. But Marwan Barghouti, who heads Yasir Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank told VOA the election result is a bad message to the Palestinians.
"I think that the Israeli people sent a very bad message for the Palestinians and for the international community," he said, "because the election of Sharon means that the Israeli people are not ready for peace, for a just peace for the Palestinians and the Arabs and it's a call for a continuation of the bloodshed and the conflict between the two sides."
Barghouti, who has led the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank, says it will continue until independence has been won.
During his campaign, Sharon promised a tough approach to the peace process, pledging he would not give up Jewish settlements in the occupied territories or sovereignty over Jerusalem.
Sharon campaign manager Meir Sheetrit told reporters at a celebration rally that Sharon is ready to make peace with the Palestinians if the violence stops.
"Mr. Sharon will ask the Palestinians to stop right away all violence and then we will negotiate," he said. "We're willing to negotiate everything and I believe the Palestinians sense this as well. There will be no gains in the middle. They cannot shoot us and at the same time and expect us to make more concessions."
U.S. Ready to Resume Peace Talks with Sharon Government
By Nick Simeone (VOA-Washington)
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States stands ready to resume Middle East peace negotiations with an Israeli government headed by Ariel Sharon, but is calling for Israelis and Palestinians to avoid violence in the meantime.
Even before the polls in Israel had closed, Powell was letting both sides know Washington will resume its role as a negotiator, only if it is clear Israel and the Palestinians truly want peace. "It has to be more than us just forcing them into positions that they may or may not support," Powell said. "There has to be a genuine effort on their part."
All Washington can do for now, he added, is urge both sides to control passions, as he put it, and give the next Israeli government time to establish its policies.
Powell announced plans to make his first trip to the Middle East as Secretary of State later this month, a trip that is expected to include a visit to Kuwait to mark the 10th anniversary of the end of the Gulf war.
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