(Ha'aretz) Q&A with former Mossad Chief Efraim Halevy - Notwithstanding the fact that weapons of mass destruction have not yet been found in Iraq, I would not rule out the possibility that they might be found in the future. Several months ago a full squadron of aircraft was discovered buried in the sand. I do not believe that Saddam Hussein risked the fall of his regime and his own capture just out of false pride. He doggedly and continuously refused to cooperate with the UN missions which tried time and time again to set up a credible weapons monitoring system in Iraq. If Israel supports the policy of democratization in the Arab world, then it must accept the results of freely held elections in the Palestinian territories. After the war of Independence in 1948, Jordan ruled the West Bank and Egypt ruled the Gaza Strip. For 19 years, the areas to which the PA lays claim were in the hands of Arab brethren and it was they who decided for reasons of their own not to grant the Palestinians independence in the territories they controlled. Israel ultimately granted the Palestinians territory, which neither Jordan nor Egypt had granted them in the past. Do the Palestinians have both the capacity and the will to create an independent state and are they capable of assuring that the state will act within the norms of accepted international conduct? No state is entitled to launch terrorist activities against another state under international law and under the norms of international law, and it is up to the Palestinians to prove that they have the will and the capacity to act as a responsible state. There will not be a viable reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians until there is a mutual recognition of each side related to the basic rights and basic narratives of the other side. Thus, just as Israel is called upon to accept the right of the Palestinians to exist as a national entity, so is it incumbent upon the Palestinians to subscribe to the legitimacy of Zionism. Without such a mutual acceptance and recognition, any agreement between the Palestinians and Israel will be of a temporary nature. I believe there should not be a second disengagement; it is my view that we should revert to negotiations with our Arab partners and any future ceding of territory should be the result of agreements wherein the Palestinians and the Arab countries take their own painful decisions and table their own concessions in return for Israel's steps.
2005-05-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive