Israeli handshake fiction: Khatami
AFP
Date: 04-09-05
TEHRAN (AFP) - Mystery surrounded a reported handshake between the presidents of arch-foes Israel and Iran as Iranian President Mohammad Khatami vehemently denied that any such meeting had taken place.
Israeli media reported Saturday the unprecedented gesture between Israeli President Moshe Katsav and Khatami at the funeral of Pope John Paul II, and that the pair even chatted about the central Iranian town of Yazd, where they were both born.
"These allegations are false like all the other allegations (by the Israeli media) and I have not had any meeting with a personality from the Zionist regime," the IRNA agency quoted Khatami as saying on his return to Iran.
Israeli officials had swiftly moved to confirm the reports of the Iranian encounter, going so far as to say they hoped it would be followed up in a more concrete fashion.
Katsav also shook hands on two occasions with another foe, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and in this case the official media in Damascus confirmed that the meeting had taken place.
But the Syrian news agency Sana stressed the gesture had "no political significance" and did not change the known position of Syria towards the Hebrew state.
Analyst Ahmed Haj Ali, a former adviser at the Syrian information ministry, told AFP: "It was not planned and has no political significance. It occurred in an emotional atmosphere, because of the rigorous character of Vatican protocol."
But any such a high-level encounter between the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state would be astonishing in the light of the historical animosities. Khatami was quick to reaffirm Tehran's lack of recognition for Israel.
"We have repeated many times that morally and logically, we do not recognise the existence of the state of Israel ... which was created by force and usurpation" of Palestinian rights.
He said Iran "would not do anything against the Middle East peace plans ... but the world should know that as long as the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are not recognised, these peace plans will not achieve anything."
Television footage showed Katsav, Assad and Khatami sitting in close proximity, although not next to each other. Media organisations were unable to uncover any potentially iconic images of historic handshakes.
As he got off the plane from Rome, the Israeli president described the meeting to the online paper Yediot Aharonot.
"The Iranian president was sitting on my left. At the end of the ceremony we both went out and exchanged a few words in Farsi (Persian)."
He added: "When heads of state meet, they always shake hands. I do not think it could be said that the ice has been broken and that any political significance should be attached to these polite exchanges."
Israeli media reports said Katsav and Khatami exchanged the traditional Arabic greeting, "Salaam Aleikum" (peace be with you) and chatted for several minutes, recalling their common hometown.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told public radio: "There was yesterday an atmosphere of unity and conciliation which allowed the possibility of a shake of hands."
"There is no need to give this a political meaning but the fact there was a shake of hands is perhaps a sign of a willingness for change in the part of the two extremist leaders of Syria and Iran -- time will tell."
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