Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, in an
interview with Xinhua late on Wednesday night, thanked China for
its persistent and extensive support for the Palestinian people and
the Palestinian cause.
"We have very strong relations with the Chinese people. We cannot
forget the help from the Chinese people, the government and the
party. They help us by all means in all fields," Arafat told Xinhua
in the exclusive interview.
The Palestinian leader said he appreciated the declaration by
Chinese President Jiang Zemin who opposed the Israeli military
attacks against the Palestinians and criticized the Israeli
decision to confine Arafat to his headquarters in the West Bank
city of Ramallah.
Arafat said China's declaration, as well as that by the European
Union, Russia and Japan to the similar effect, is very
important.
During his late evening dinner with Xinhua correspondents, Arafat,
who paid his first visit to China in 1963, also recalled the
traditional friendship between the Chinese and Palestinian
peoples.
Arafat Doubts Sharon's Intentions for Peace
Arafat said that he was ready to conduct peace talks with Israel,
but was skeptical that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has real
intentions to seek peace with the Palestinians. He said the
Palestinians are committed to all the agreements they have signed
with the Israelis.
"We respect what we have signed with my partner (slain Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin, the peace of the brave, which has
been supported by the international groups. We are committed to and
respect our signatures and what we have signed. It is not only my
wish and my target, but the target of all the Palestinian people,"
he said.
Asked whether he believes he can make peace with Sharon, Arafat
said: "You have to ask him. I'm ready. But he is repeating everyday
that he wants to destroy the Oslo agreements. This has been
repeated by him several times and by his cabinet ministers and some
of his high officials."
Arafat said the obstacle standing in the way of peace is that "they
are not ready to carry on what we agreed upon. We had discussed and
had an agreement in Oslo, in Paris, in Wye River (in the United
States), in Camp David (in the White House), in Sharm el-Sheikh
(Egyptian Red Sea resort). But he (Sharon) is not intending to
complete what has been agreed upon."
Asked about the talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres
and Speaker of Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmed Qurei (Abu
Ala) and the interim agreement they were discussing, the
Palestinian leader said: "Nothing has been offered to us. He
(Peres) said it was only a gesture."
"If Israelis put forward this proposal," said Arafat, "we can
discuss."
Arafat criticized Sharon for not allowing Israeli Knesset
(Parliament) Speaker Avraham Burg and President Moshe Katsav to go
to Ramallah to address the Palestinian parliament in a bid to call
for a cease fire and promote the stalled peace process.
He
also revealed that Sharon, who used to send his son as his envoy to
meet him, had stopped this "for a long time."
Arafat dismissed the recent meeting between his three senior
officials with Sharon in Jerusalem as a tactic used by Israeli
prime minister before his trip to the United States.
Arafat said he believed there is still hope for him to reach a
peace deal with Sharon, but added that it depends very much on how
Israel will act.
"Don't forget, I signed the (Oslo) agreement with (late Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin in the White House," he said.
Arafat noted that a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is important not only to peace in the Middle East but also
to that of the entire world.
He
called on the United States to step up mediation efforts between
Israel and the Palestinians to revive the peace process.
"We are looking for the United States because they are the
co-sponsors of the peace process, which was started by President
George W Bush's father. And we hope President Bush, the son, will
complete it. For this, we are looking for a big and strong role
from the American administration."
The 73-year-old Palestinian leader, who refreshed himself after a
brief meal with his supporters and some journalists, said the
Palestinians would be willing to play a more active role in the
future peace negotiations.
"We have French initiatives, European initiatives and Egyptian
initiatives. The last agreement was reached in (the Egyptian Red
Sea Resort of) Taba January 2001. The Last initiative was declared
on December 16. We are committed to all the initiatives to achieve
peace in the land of peace, in the holy land..."
Arafat Calls for More International Intervention in
Mideast
Yasser Arafat called for increased international intervention to
prevent the conflict between Israel and Palestine from further
deterioration.
"There are Israeli military escalations against us and they
continue to siege our cities and towns," Arafat told Xinhua in an
exclusive interview. "The situation is very dangerous now."
"We are committed to the peace of the brave we have signed. For
this, this must be a strong push from the international
community... at least to send the observers and the troops," Arafat
said.
Blasting Israel for its excessive use of military force against the
Palestinian people, Arafat said he did not care about his personal
safety. "The most important thing is what our people are facing,
not me," he said.
"Besides their siege of towns and cities, they (the Israelis) have
also reoccupied big parts of our Palestinian areas which were put
under our control according to the Oslo agreements," Arafat
said.
Arafat said that during the 16 months of conflicts, "more than
2,100 Palestinians have been killed and 43,000 others were injured,
a big ratio of them were handicapped."
Apart from the heavy casualties, Israel also withheld more than one
billion dollars of tax money from the Palestinians, Arafat said.
"They are actually stealing the money."
"What we are facing is really a tragedy and it has never happened
elsewhere in the world," said the 73-year Palestinian leader, who
did not hide his emotions, his lower lip trembling. "The United
Nations Security Council should send troops, at least international
observers to see what happens here."
"There are observers in (the Egyptian peninsula of) Sinai and south
Lebanon. Why cannot there be observers in the Palestinian areas?"
Arafat asked.
The Palestinian leader particularly urged the United States, the
main sponsor of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, to step up
efforts to engage in the Middle East.
(People's
Daily February 7, 2002)