MID-EAST REALITIES © - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 6/01/01: For a long time now we have been desperately warning about what the true Israeli intentions are. We have also been warning that the Palestinians are not at all prepared for these eventualities, neither with the terrible leadership provided by the "Palestinian Authority" nor for the world-wide information and public relations battle that accompanies all major developments in our world these days. And we have been warning as well that the situation in Washington is far worse for the Palestinians than their friends and supporters try to pretend, largely because the "client organizations" in their own way are just as bad as the "client regimes" who control them. These three press reports point the direction of what may be coming...maybe soon now:

JERUSALEM — Special to World Tribune, 1 June: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been presented with aplan calling for the destruction of the Palestinian Authority intwo days.

"It's clear that the continuation of the terrorism and therestraint cannot continue formuch longer, not more than a few days," Israeli President MosheKatsav toldstate-owned Israel Radio on Friday.

The plan presented by National Infrastructure Minister AvigdorLieberman wouldlaunch an Israeli military invasion of at least six major citiesin the West Bank andanother four in the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported.Israeli troops wouldbe given at least two days to destroy Palestinian militaryinstallations, weaponsfactories and arresting leaders of the Palestinian insurgency.

The Israeli capture of these cities would be brief, according tothe plan. The WestBank would then be divided into a series of provincesadministered separately byPalestinians. Israel would then discuss with new Palestiniansleaders such issues asself-rule.

"We have to go into Area A [PA territory] and destroy the entiremilitaryinfrastructure," Lieberman said.

Israeli officials said the military has drawn up similar plansand they are now beingreviewed by Sharon. The officials said Sharon is expected todelay any Israeli attackuntil after he returns from his European tour, which begins onSunday. The primeminister is scheduled to fly to Berlin, Brussels and Paris.

Katsav was speaking in Washington where he met his U.S.counterpart, GeorgeBush. Israeli sources said Katsav submitted to Bush a requestfrom Sharon for anadditional $800 million in U.S. military aid pledged by theprevious Clintonadministration.

Sharon is under increasing pressure from some of his Likud Partyand right-wingministers as well as Jewish settlers to launch an offensiveagainst the PA. OnThursday, several Israelis were arrested during a demonstrationin Jerusalem againstthe government's policy of restraint. "We need Winston Churchilland notChamberlain," Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, spiritual leader of theJewish settlement ofEfrat, said.

PA officials said they are preparing for an Israeli onslaught.They said Israel haswaged a psychological warfare that seeks to sow strife withinthe Palestinianleadership.

PA gunners fired mortars early Friday toward Jewish settlementsin the Gaza Strip.The Israeli military, as part of its unilateral ceasefire, didnot respond.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned PA ChairmanYasser Arafat andreiterated the U.S. demand to end the eight-month-old waragainst Israel.

BRUSSELS, Belgium –– AP - 31 May: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat claimed Thursday that senior Israeli officials werepreparing a "new war" to paralyze his Palestinian Authority.

"I have received a letter saying the (Ariel) Sharon governmenthasadopted the principle of a new war against the Palestinianpeople," he saidin a speech to the upper house of the Belgian Parliament.

"The goal of the Israeli army in calling a truce is in fact tomobilize theIsraeli mass to prepare an atrocious war ... in which theywill use allmilitary means to paralyze the Palestinian Authority," Arafatadded.

Arafat was responding to comments from Israeli InfrastructureMinisterAvigdor Lieberman, a hard-liner in the cabinet of PrimeMinister ArialSharon's government, who said Israel should immediatelyreoccupyPalestinian-controlled areas in the West Bank and the GazaStrip.

"In the next 48 hours we need to go into all Palestinian areasand destroythe entire infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority,destroy the weaponscache of their forces including those of the militias,"Lieberman told Israeliradio.

Arafat addressed the Belgian Senate on the latest stop on aEuropean tourthat had earlier taken him to Russia and Denmark. He spoke inArabicand his comments were relayed by a French translator.

THE WASHINGTON TIMES - 1 June:Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has "a few days, nomore" to end the violence among his supporters or face asharply escalated Israeli military response, Israel´spresidentsaid yesterday. "People are fed up. Ourpatience is not unlimited," MosheKatsav said in an interview witheditors and reporters of TheWashington Times at Blair House,the United States´ officialexecutive guest residence.Mr. Katsav said he conveyedhis concerns to President Bush,Secretary of State Colin L. Powelland other top administrationofficials in meetings yesterday. Mr.Bush also hosted a working dinnerlast night for the Israeli president, who is on his firstofficialtrip to Washington since his surprise election lastsummer.Eight months of clashes between Palestinians andIsraelisecurity forces have intensified in recent days, despitetherelease last month of a report by a commission headed byformer Sen. George Mitchell calling for an immediatecease-fire and steps to rebuild the shattered peaceprocess.Four Israeli settlers have been killed in the pastthreedays, prompting intense political pressure on thegovernmentfor a crackdown."It is a question of a few days, not more, for YasserArafat to decide" whether to halt the violence, Mr. Katsavsaid in the interview.Should Israel respond militarily, the president said,itwould not be by reoccupying territory now administered bythe Palestinians, but by "an attack on the centers andsourcesof the terrorism," which he said included Mr. Arafat´sleadership group.Mr. Katsav also said he had told Mr. Bush he wasconvinced that Mr. Arafat has concluded that streetviolenceand terrorism are effective ways to achieve his politicalends.Mr. Katsav said Mr. Bush replied, "I hope you arewrong." But, the Israeli added, Mr. Bush "is not sure."White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that, attheirmorning meeting, Mr. Bush had "reaffirmed America´ssupport for Israel and . . . discussed the United States´engagement to be a facilitator in the region." A U.S. diplomatic team headed by Ambassador WilliamBurns, Mr. Powell´s newly designated point man for theregion, has made little progress in arranging meetings togetthe two sides to discuss new security arrangements to haltthefighting.Palestinian officials contend Israel hopes to use thetruceto entrench itself in disputed territories. They point topassages in the Mitchell report that call for an eventualtotalfreeze on Israeli settlements in occupied territory, whichIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has yet to accept.In Jerusalem yesterday, Mr. Sharon echoed Mr.Katsav´swarnings that Israel´s self-imposed cease-fire will endsoon ifMr. Arafat does not move to curb the violence."My blood is boiling," Mr. Sharon said during a visitto thefamily of a Jewish settler on the West Bank killed in aroadside ambush this week. "I will have to decide when todowhat I think has to be done."Israeli press outlets reported that Mr. Sharon hadphonedMr. Powell Wednesday after a car bombing in the coastalcity of Netanya to say the current situation wasintolerableand could not continue much longer.State Department spokesman Richard Boucher saidyesterday that Mr. Powell had talked to both Mr. SharonandMr. Arafat by phone Wednesday evening, imploring both tostop the fighting.Mr. Powell urged Mr. Sharon to "continue his policyofrestraint and de-escalation," Mr. Boucher said yesterday.But the Israeli prime minister is also under pressurefromdomestic critics to strike hard in the wake of the mostrecentviolence.Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a rival inMr. Sharon´s own Likud Party, urged a direct attack on thePalestinian Authority´s infrastructure."We must go from reaction to decisive action," Mr.Netanyahu said. "We must make it clear to Arafat that ifhecontinues his policy of terror, we will cause this corruptterrorist regime to collapse and we have the power to dothis."Mr. Katsav, 56, shot to international prominence lastJulywhen he upset former prime minister and Nobel Peace Prizelaureate Shimon Peres in a secret ballot of Israel´sparliament,the Knesset, for the largely ceremonial but high-profilepresident´s post.Mr. Katsav, who was born in Iran and moved to Israelasa boy, has been seen as a symbol of the politicalemergenceof the "second Israel" -- the wave of Sephardic Jews fromArab and Islamic countries who moved to the new Jewishstate in its early years and still form the bulk of thecountry´slower classes.A Knesset member for the conservative Likud Partysince1977, Mr. Katsav denied during last year´s voting that hewas running an "ethnic" campaign, but many saw his victoryas a challenge to the European-oriented Ashkenazi Jews whohave traditionally dominated the country´s politics.In yesterday´s interview, Mr. Katsav said:• Israel was convinced, based on its own intelligencesources, that Mr. Arafat had the power to bring theviolenceto a halt, even with loosely affiliated groups, such asHamas. •A combined appeal from Europe and the United Statesfor an end to Palestinian violence would force Mr. Arafattoback down.• Ordinary Palestinians have suffered even more thanIsraelis from Mr. Arafat´s record of broken promises andbythe violence that has claimed more than 500 lives sincethecollapse of the Camp David summit last summer.The Israeli president said that, while it was "verydifficult"for him to trust the Palestinian leader, he would continuetonegotiate with him."He´s my partner. He´s popular with his people. WhatcanI do?" Mr. Katsav asked."I want peace. Do I have any choice?"•Abraham Rabinovich in Je-rusalem contributed to thisreport.

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Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/6/224.htm