Reuters


UK's Straw Gets Israeli Pledge on Palestinian Vote

Date: Wed Nov 24

By Madeline Chambers

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli leaders told Britain's foreign secretary on Wednesday they would do their utmost to let Palestinians hold elections but criticized the top presidential candidate for vowing to follow in Yasser Arafat (news - web sites)'s footsteps.

As Foreign Secretary Jack Straw joined a new international peace drive, Israel also promised to allow foreign observers into the occupied Palestinian territories to monitor the vote on Jan. 9 to choose a successor to Arafat.

Straw suggested the passing of Arafat, whom Washington had shunned as an "obstacle to peace," had opened up a new opportunity for progress toward resolving the conflict. He held talks in Israel and will travel to the West Bank on Thursday.

"Israel will do everything in its power to ensure the smooth running of the forthcoming Palestinian elections," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said at a news conference with Straw.

But signaling deep mistrust after four years of bloodshed, Shalom rebuked presidential frontrunner Mahmoud Abbas for vowing that Palestinians would never give up Arafat's bedrock demand that Israel recognize a "right of return" of refugees.

The moderate new PLO leader hammered home the issue, a key factor in the collapse of peace talks in 2000, at a parliamentary session on Tuesday to mourn Arafat, who died at a French hospital on Nov. 11.

"We are very sorry about the last statements by Mahmoud Abbas about the necessity of Palestinians to keep the heritage of Arafat which was involved with terrorism most of the time," Shalom said. "We'd like the new leadership to be more responsible."

Abbas's comments were seen as an attempt to build credibility among hard-liners. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out during the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Israelis say allowing them back would be demographic suicide for the Jewish state.

STRAW PRAISES BOTH SIDES

Pushing the two sides not to get bogged down over differences, Straw praised Israel for its approach to the elections and said a "credible leadership" was emerging among the Palestinians.

"With the kind of cooperation we've heard the Israelis providing, I believe elections will take place on time," he said.

But no breakthroughs were expected in a visit seen by both sides as a bid by British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites), plagued at home by political fallout from the Iraq (news - web sites) war, to show he was giving priority to the pursuit of Middle East peace.

Britain and the rest of Europe are considered junior partners to the United States, which is showing tentative signs of reviving its long-dormant role as main peacemaker.

Straw's mission could build on this week's visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), who secured an Israeli pledge to ease its military grip on the West Bank to allow voting.

Though Washington and Israel had tried to isolate Arafat -- the longtime symbol of Palestinian nationalism -- Britain had kept ties with him while demanding sweeping reforms.

Straw was to hold talks on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), who has stopped short of committing to a troop pullback for the vote. He is resisting international pressure for goodwill gestures, saying Palestinians must first confront armed groups launching attacks as part of an uprising.

Palestinians say a free vote will be impossible while army checkpoints ring their cities. Israel says the measures are meant to keep suicide bombers out of the Jewish state. Officials said Straw would press the Palestinians to reform their security services to help end violence. He will meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie and Abbas on Thursday and also lay a wreath at Arafat's grave. Straw declined comment on Wednesday on media reports that Blair planned to visit the region in December.

Source

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