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| Britain |
| Straw rebuffs Israeli call to isolate Arafat |
| 2003-07-15 |
| Britain has rebuffed a call from Israel’s prime minister to break off contacts with Yasser Arafat. During talks in London with Ariel Sharon, the Foreign Secretary said the Government would continue dealing with Mr Arafat "as we see fit". Tony throws a bone to Labour rebels(?) Israel’s leader is to meet Tony Blair for talks in a visit intended to repair relations following the strains of recent months. The 45 minute meeting with Jack Straw focused mainly on the Middle East peace process and the implementation of the "road map". Mr Sharon was said to have raised the issue of contacts with Palestine’s President. A spokesman said: "The Foreign Secretary made clear our position, as with the rest of the EU, is that Arafat is the democratically elected Mr Sharon wants European leaders finally to cut their ties with Mr Arafat, who he accuses of interfering in the work of the moderate Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen. Although Mr Arafat has been partly sidelined since Mr Abbas became premier in April, he retains considerable powers. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #5 Of course this antisemitic thug received the highest medal the Central Council of Jews in Germany has: The Buber-Rosenzweig-Medal (March 2003). For quite a few reasons. One was for being a real "true friend of Israel". But what do German Jews know... |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-7-15 11:24:53 PM |
| #4 ;) |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-7-15 7:44:54 PM |
| #3 Yes, TGA. At least Blair's not an ex-terrorist antisemitic thug. Thank heaven for small mercies. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-7-15 7:42:38 PM |
| #2 BBC says that privately brit officials say they really prefer to deal with Ababs and not Arafat. This may be a bone to UK lefties, but i think more likely its an attempt to avoid a break with the other Euros on this issue, and preserve Tony's role as bridge between the US and the weasels. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-7-15 11:14:25 AM |
| #1 The Labour government are treading a very risky line in relation to Arafat. The charge of hypocrisy swings over Blair's head, as any insistence from Whitehall that Israel goes 'soft' on Palestinian terrorism is liable to be held in comparison with British actions against the IRA. The fact is, the British government have assassinated members of the IRA, and had incidents during which innocents have died during operations against terrorists. The British government has protested when Gerry Adams has visited the White House, yet refuses to refrain from discourse with Arafat. The British government expects IRA disarmament (yet ignores the fact that the IRA fails to do so), yet does not expect the same from Palestinian groups, before Israel makes political concessions. And this expectation of ever more Israeli flexibility comes despite the obvious difference in both the gravity and the intensity of the threats posed by Palestinian terror organisations and the IRA, towards Israel and the UK, respectively. Sharon will apparently also be meeting IDS (Iain Duncan Smith, leader of the Tories) during his visit. He can expect a more sympathetic response from the leader of the party that hopefully will yield considerably more influence in two years' time. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-7-15 8:17:30 AM |