WEYMOUTH: How do you see the situation? SHARON: I told U.S. officials in recent meetings that “there is a conflict between America’s need to establish a coalition [to fight Iraq] and our need to fight Palestinian terrorism.” [I said,] “Don’t take any steps that might undermine the future security of the state of Israel… You will go home, and we will have to stay here facing these dangers.”
Some people say you should dismantle the settlements and build a fence to separate Israel from the Palestinians. Your opinion? This is only a good slogan. On Israel’s northern border, we have the most sophisticated devices. Just a week ago Hizbullah crossed the border and killed five civilians and one Army officer. How do you build a wall that will protect us against rockets?
What do you say to Benjamin Netanyahu, who suggests going after Arafat and disarming the Palestinian Authority? There are 3 1/2 million Palestinians. Are we once again going to conduct their education, their health programs?
Can a ceasefire work? Real pressure should be put on the Palestinian Authority by the Americans. [The PA] must understand that if it continues terrorism, it will have to pay.
Will you allow Arafat to go to the [Arab summit] meeting in Beirut? We have not yet decided whether to let him go. In talking to the Americans, I suggested I’ll go to Beirut to talk to the Arabs directly about what might be achieved, and I would welcome an American initiative to advance such a move.
Do you have a plan? My plan is comprised of three stages: (1) a complete ceasefire; (2) a long-term interim agreement granting the Palestinians territorial contiguity without naming final borders; (3) the final borders of the two states would be determined by the future relations between Israel and the Palestinians and in the spirit of U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338.
You hinted that if Arafat went to Beirut, he might not be allowed to return. I don’t rule out any options.
Does Arafat have control over the various terror groups? Most of the terror now is conducted by forces that are under his full control. For example, the suicide bomber who struck yesterday was a policeman. He was a member of the Tanzim, which is the military arm of the Fatah.
What do you think Arafat really wants? I think Arafat would like to get concessions from Israel, and his final desire is that Israel be eliminated. One of his immediate goals is the destruction of the national-unity government.
Could this turn into a wider war? I’m very concerned by having Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards organizing on our northern border. Hizbullah is developing a terrorist infrastructure with Iranian assistance and Syrian support. American pressure on Lebanon and Syria is necessary.
How does [Syrian President] Bashar Assad differ from his father? He’s much weaker. Hizbullah and the Revolutionary Guards never had it so good.
What’s your reaction to the recent plan proposed by the Saudis? Every initiative is welcome. What’s interesting is the vision of peace and normalization with all the Arab world. But there appears to be a precondition–Israeli withdrawal to the ‘67 borders. Israel will not be able to do that if it wants to survive.
How do you compare the difficulties Israel is now suffering with other hard periods? We’ve had much harder periods. I participated in the war of independence and was badly injured.
Is Israel at war now? There’s a war going on here. There are funerals every day.
