UK rejects Arafat isolation calls
投稿者： r911911911 投稿日時： 2003/07/15 00:33 投稿番号： [6231 / 20008]
The UK Government has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's appeals for Britain to break off relations with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The issue of contacts came up when Mr Sharon met UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in London on Monday. He will have dinner with Tony Blair later on Monday.
After the meeting, British officials said Mr Arafat was an elected leader and the UK would continue to deal with him where it was appropriate.
Mr Straw used the talks to raise the question of three British citizens shot in the Occupied Territories in recent months.
In response, Mr Sharon said he had given instructions for the incidents to be investigated.
Truce concerns
The Israeli leader's trip is being seen as an attempt to ease strained Israeli-UK relations and to push forward the Middle East peace process.
As Mr Sharon left for London, the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned they would abandon their truce if attempts by the Palestinian Authority to disarm them continued.
Mr Blair is keen to see progress on the US-backed roadmap for peace which would see a Palestinian state set up by 2005.
When he meets Mr Sharon later on Monday he is expected to focus on the dismantling of Jewish settlements and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli officials say Mr Sharon will also raise the issue of incitement against Israel among Muslims in Britain, and press for action to stop groups fundraising for Hamas.
Mr Sharon is also due to meet Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and Jewish leaders, according to Israel's ambassador to Britain, Zvi Stauber.
"The expectation is that the trip will give a new impetus to relations between Israel and Britain which ... to the regret of both sides, have experienced some grating misunderstandings in recent months," Mr Stauber told Israel radio.
Arafat's influence
In an interview with two UK newspapers ahead of his visit to London, Mr Sharon urged European leaders to avoid contacts with Mr Arafat.
"Every act of this nature only postpones the progress in the process," he said.
"By that they are undermining Abu Mazen (the Palestinian prime minister)."
But a Foreign Office official said: "The European Union position is to keep in contact with Yasser Arafat.
"He has high standing among the Palestinians, has an influence on the roadmap and is, after all, an elected leader."
Attack
The three-day trip is Mr Sharon's longest visit to London so far and the first for more than a year.
Ties between the UK and Israel were strained when Britain hosted a conference on Palestinian reform in January and Israel prevented Palestinian delegates from travelling to the meeting.
Tensions have also risen over the Israeli army's shooting of three British citizens in the Palestinian territories, and a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv in April which was blamed on two British Muslims.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3062539.stm
The issue of contacts came up when Mr Sharon met UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in London on Monday. He will have dinner with Tony Blair later on Monday.
After the meeting, British officials said Mr Arafat was an elected leader and the UK would continue to deal with him where it was appropriate.
Mr Straw used the talks to raise the question of three British citizens shot in the Occupied Territories in recent months.
In response, Mr Sharon said he had given instructions for the incidents to be investigated.
Truce concerns
The Israeli leader's trip is being seen as an attempt to ease strained Israeli-UK relations and to push forward the Middle East peace process.
As Mr Sharon left for London, the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned they would abandon their truce if attempts by the Palestinian Authority to disarm them continued.
Mr Blair is keen to see progress on the US-backed roadmap for peace which would see a Palestinian state set up by 2005.
When he meets Mr Sharon later on Monday he is expected to focus on the dismantling of Jewish settlements and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli officials say Mr Sharon will also raise the issue of incitement against Israel among Muslims in Britain, and press for action to stop groups fundraising for Hamas.
Mr Sharon is also due to meet Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and Jewish leaders, according to Israel's ambassador to Britain, Zvi Stauber.
"The expectation is that the trip will give a new impetus to relations between Israel and Britain which ... to the regret of both sides, have experienced some grating misunderstandings in recent months," Mr Stauber told Israel radio.
Arafat's influence
In an interview with two UK newspapers ahead of his visit to London, Mr Sharon urged European leaders to avoid contacts with Mr Arafat.
"Every act of this nature only postpones the progress in the process," he said.
"By that they are undermining Abu Mazen (the Palestinian prime minister)."
But a Foreign Office official said: "The European Union position is to keep in contact with Yasser Arafat.
"He has high standing among the Palestinians, has an influence on the roadmap and is, after all, an elected leader."
Attack
The three-day trip is Mr Sharon's longest visit to London so far and the first for more than a year.
Ties between the UK and Israel were strained when Britain hosted a conference on Palestinian reform in January and Israel prevented Palestinian delegates from travelling to the meeting.
Tensions have also risen over the Israeli army's shooting of three British citizens in the Palestinian territories, and a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv in April which was blamed on two British Muslims.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3062539.stm
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