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Uri Avnery, Israeli peacenik
ilo peace under Sharon
riel Sharon isnt just sulking,
he is breathirrg fire against
Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat. The Israeli premier holds
Arafat responsible for the continuing
mayhem and bloodshed
- - caused by
Palestinian demonstrators and sui-
cide bombers. No wonder Israel-Pal-
estine relations have hit an
all time low. Yet, Uri and
Rachel Armery want Israel
to talk peace with Arafat.
Uri, who founded the
Gush Shalom peace move-
mentwith his wife, survived
a bid on his life in the late
194Os, and, on another oc-
casion, had his hands bro-
ken when he criticised the
Kibieh massacre in tgSg.
Consequently, he formed
the Haolam Hazeh Party,
and was elected to the
Knesset, serving three
terms between 1965 and
UAf. He continued to advo-
cate his proposal for an in-
dependent Palestinian
state, discussirrg the same
with the PLO during the
197Os. In 1982, he even
crossed the lines in the
battle of Beirut and met
Arafat.
"The present is but a
stage, albeit a sad one, in the
inevitable march towards
peace and conciliation,"
says Uri, 77,who alongwith
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wife Rachel, Zo, was
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cerpts from an interyiew:
How is Gush Shalom perceived in
IsraelP
For the Israeli military, we are
their biggest critics. But the people are
our biggest supporters. When we said
we would like to offer the olive branch
to Arafal, the war-weary public ac-
cepted our proposal.
Sometime ago we published
statement in a newspaper, signed by
5OO prominent Israelis, supporting
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the establishment of the state of pal- both Israel and Palestine.
estine in all the territories ofthe West lsn't it too idealisticP
Bank and the Gaza Strip, with Jerusa- Not if you accept the truth. Israel
lem as the joint capital. We are deter- has been occupying the territory since
mined to fight further extension of 7967. Committing a mistake is one
Israeli setLlements in the occupied ter- thing, perpetuating it over decades is
ritories and the continuing demolition heinous.
of Arab houses. But the policy of Pnime Minister Ariel
Sharon handly holds any
scope fon peace.
The only solution that
will work is the one we are
proposirrg. It is not the best
solution, but the only one
Thus the choice for Israelis
is between a solution and
eternal war.
Sharon does not want
that kind of peace. Under
him, as an Israeli, I hate to
admit that there is no pos-
sibility for peace.
ls there any neason to
doubt America's political will
to settle the Middle East cri-
sisP
After what happened in
Afghanistan, I am worried
that the US might come to
the conclusion that every
problem can be solved by
aerial bombing. It is not
just a dangerous, but a stu-
pid idea.
America is creating
more hatred in the Middle
East. Wtrite it is destroying
one bin Laden, it is creating
one hundred more.
What about lslamic na-
tions in the regionP
The response of the
Arab states is scandalous. If
tThat do you think is a wonkable peace they had agreed to join the American
planP coalition against terrorism on condi-
Recognition of an independent tion that Washington would draw up
Palestinian state with Green Line a fresh plan for the Middle East,
(pre-1p67) borders; evacuation of all things would have been better. Com-
Israeli settlements within this state; pare the lip-service they paid the Pal-
free movement ofpopulation between estinians with howthey reacted to the
the Israeli and Palestinian states with American request for support in Af-
a a possibility of joint agreements on ghanistan. If I were a Palestinian, I
security and water distribution; and would feel betrayed.
finally, Jerusalem being the capital of Farwa lmam Ali
Fss 24 2OO2