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Newsletter : 1fax0320.txt
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>JN March 20, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 50
Arafat in Good Health
By VOA News
A Jordanian neurologist says Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, 71, is in good health following a routine medical exam in Amman.
Dr. Ashraf Kurdi said Arafat was in good spirits, although he said the Palestinian leader suffers from anxiety because of the situation in the Palestinian territories - alluding to six months of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.
U.S. Warns Israel and Palestinians
By Nick Simeone (VOA-Washington)
The Bush administration has warned both Israel and the Palestinians that the region will only see greater tragedy if six months of Arab-Israeli violence is not replaced with new dialogue. The comments from Secretary of State Colin Powell came as the new Israeli prime minister began his first official visit to Washington.
The warnings to both sides came in a speech by Powell to a pro-Israel lobby group Monday, a day before President Bush and his foreign policy team are set to have their first meeting with the newly-elected Ariel Sharon. "Violence provokes armed reaction, not compromise. Leaders have the responsibility to denounce violence, strip it of legitimacy, stop it. Violence is a dead end."
He did not point the finger at either side. But his comments are sure to be seen by Sharon as endorsement of his repeatedly stated view that Israel will not resume peace talks under what he calls the threat of violence and terror.
The Bush administration came into office with the prospects for Middle East peace having dimmed dramatically and at a time when no Arab state even maintained a resident ambassador in Israel. Powell told his audience that Washington will assist when it can but has no magic formula for peace, the parties themselves must come up with that.
"Turning to the United States or other outside parties to pressure one or another party or to impose a settlement is not the answer... debating and passing new United Nations resolutions is unlikely to make a contribution," said Powell.
The Bush administration is still in the process of reviewing its overall policy toward the Middle East. Sharon's Washington trip marks the start of what will be several high level visits by regional leaders. Also headed to Washington in the coming days will be the leaders of Egypt and Jordan.
Sharon: U.S. Supports Slow Peace Approach
By VOA News & Arutz-7 News
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he has U.S. support for
his go-slow policy toward peace with the Palestinians. Sharon held
separate meetings in Washington Monday with Secretary of State
Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The sessions
centered on Israeli plans for ending violent confrontations with
the Palestinians and cooperation with the United States.
At the White House, spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush will urge Sharon to ease Israel's economic pressure on Palestinians when the two men meet Tuesday. However, he said Bush also wants Palestinians to take steps to end violence against Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel has completely sealed the West Bank town of Bethlehem after a Jewish settler was shot dead while driving on a road south of Bethlehem. Israeli officials say they think the drive-by gunmen fled into the Palestinian-controlled town.
Sharon arrived in the U.S. amidst reports of an erosion in the Israeli position for demanding the release of Jonathan Pollard.
Reports have been received that the Sharon delegation fears pressing for Pollard's release in order not to "introduce unpleasantness into the atmosphere of the first working session with the Americans."
Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin said that the Pollard release would be discussed, but could not say if it would be brought up with President Bush directly.
IMRA news agency received a statement from Pollard commenting on the reported Israeli delegation's hesitations. "No Government of Israel has ever pursued this case as a matter of national priority. Even in those instances when people like Binyamin Netanyahu seemed to have been on the verge of securing my release, they were never willing to push the matter to the point where they could be successful... The Americans understand this kind of tentative support very well and act accordingly.
"If Prime Minister Sharon is not willing to make a clear and unambiguous case for my release and repatriation at this first meeting with President Bush, then he will never be ready for it. Americans understand a country's support for and commitment to agents and soldiers who are in harm's way."
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Iran: 'Israel Represents a Danger to Middle East'
By VOA News
Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, on a visit to Lebanon, said
Israel poses a danger to the Middle East, especially after the
election of Ariel Sharon as prime minister.
Kharrazi says there needs to be more coordination between Islamic countries in the region as a result. He urged Arab states to adopt a firm policy on Israel at the summit of Arab leaders in Jordan later this month. The Iranian foreign minister said Israel represents a danger to Lebanon in particular because it is on what he calls the front line.
Iran is a main backer of Lebanon's Hizbullah guerrillas.
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