Israeli Foreign Minister: If PA Fights Terror, Israel Could Coordinate Disengagement

(Ha'aretz)Arnon Regular - Israel is formulating a new diplomatic policy for the post-Arafat era which may include a coordinated, rather than unilateral, disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. Speaking to the General Assembly of North American Jewish communities in Cleveland, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said that if the new Palestinian leadership fights against terrorism, Israel will agree to conduct negotiations over coordinated implementation of the disengagement plan. Shalom warned that Israel would be strict in judging whether the PA had taken actual steps against terrorism. "The possibility of change on the Palestinian side is not enough. We need to see a change on the ground." Israel's National Security Council is preparing a program to turn the pullout plan into a process that would be coordinated with the newly emerging Palestinian leadership.


2004-11-15 00:00:00

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