Arafat Seeks to Restore His Mideast Status
By JAMES BENNET
Published: December 11, 2003
[........]
Mr. Arafat was quoted as saying that he insisted on Palestinian sovereignty in east Jerusalem, including over the contested holy site known to Palestinians as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
But, he said: "We accept Jewish sovereignty over the Wailing Wall and over the Jewish quarter of the Old City. We accept this only because we recognize and respect the Jewish religion and the Jewish historical attachment to Palestine."
Raanan Gissin, Mr. Sharon's spokesman, dismissed that statement, saying it was not "a recognition of the birthright of the Jews" but merely of the fact that Jerusalem had religious significance for them. Mr. Sharon's stance is that Jerusalem is Israel's eternal, indivisible capital.
[........]
Asked by Mr. Siegman if he objected to the "Jewish character" of Israel, Mr. Arafat did not answer yes or no. He said that he had officially recognized Israel and that it followed from that recognition that Israel's citizens "have the right to determine the identity and character of the state of Israel, as long as it remains a democratic state and grants equal rights to others, including its large Arab population."
[.........]
In response to other questions, Mr. Arafat said he would not insist that a Palestinian state have as its precise borders the ones that Israel crossed in the 1967 war when it occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He said he would accept "limited territorial exchanges," in other words, swapping land that Israel wanted to retain in the West Bank for land within Israel.
He also said he was "prepared to accept limitations on the Palestinian state's military capacities," as well as international monitors within the state and on its borders to check its compliance.
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Hmm. I looked real hard, but I couldn't find anything about "pushing the Jews into the sea" in there. Could anyone else?
By JAMES BENNET
Published: December 11, 2003
[........]
Mr. Arafat was quoted as saying that he insisted on Palestinian sovereignty in east Jerusalem, including over the contested holy site known to Palestinians as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
But, he said: "We accept Jewish sovereignty over the Wailing Wall and over the Jewish quarter of the Old City. We accept this only because we recognize and respect the Jewish religion and the Jewish historical attachment to Palestine."
Raanan Gissin, Mr. Sharon's spokesman, dismissed that statement, saying it was not "a recognition of the birthright of the Jews" but merely of the fact that Jerusalem had religious significance for them. Mr. Sharon's stance is that Jerusalem is Israel's eternal, indivisible capital.
[........]
Asked by Mr. Siegman if he objected to the "Jewish character" of Israel, Mr. Arafat did not answer yes or no. He said that he had officially recognized Israel and that it followed from that recognition that Israel's citizens "have the right to determine the identity and character of the state of Israel, as long as it remains a democratic state and grants equal rights to others, including its large Arab population."
[.........]
In response to other questions, Mr. Arafat said he would not insist that a Palestinian state have as its precise borders the ones that Israel crossed in the 1967 war when it occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He said he would accept "limited territorial exchanges," in other words, swapping land that Israel wanted to retain in the West Bank for land within Israel.
He also said he was "prepared to accept limitations on the Palestinian state's military capacities," as well as international monitors within the state and on its borders to check its compliance.
###
Hmm. I looked real hard, but I couldn't find anything about "pushing the Jews into the sea" in there. Could anyone else?
We got incoming zionist imperalist! And Mr. Hitler says true patriots shoot to kill!
