Berkley, in Israel, says Palestinians are at crossroads

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004 | 10:47 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has not caused celebrations in Israel, but will create more hope for peace, said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

Berkley learned of Arafat's death from a CNN broadcast she watched in her hotel room in Jerusalem. She is on a personal trip to Israel to visit her son who is studying there. The Jerusalem Post at her hotel room door in the morning had said Arafat was still alive, but the news quickly spread throughout the city after he was pronounced dead.

Arafat's death came as no surprise because of reports of his declining health during the last few weeks. The Israeli government plans to strengthen security as Arafat's body will be brought to Ramallah, paired with the end of the Muslim religion's holy month of Ramadan, Berkley said, based on information she received today.

Berkley said Arafat's pending death had been the main topic of conversation in Israel since she arrived on Sunday.

"There is no dancing in the streets here," Berkley said in a phone interview today. "This is not a celebratory atmosphere."

She called from northern Israel. "I can see Lebanon from where I'm standing," she said.

There is widespread worry in the region that there will be additional violence as Araft is buried.

"They are hoping for the best but anticipating the worst," she said.

Palestinians consider Arafat to be the father of their fight to have their own nation, but Berkley, echoing the opinion of many Israelis and their supporters, said Arafat was a "thief and a terrorist." As long as he was in charge, she said, there was no chance of peace in the Middle East, so his death creates a new opportunity.

"The dynamics of this (change in Palestinian leadership) are extraordinary," she said "I can't overemphasize how significant this is."

She said there is now a "glimmer of hope" that a new leader of Palestine could work to create two states -- a Jewish State and a Palestinian State -- that would exist in peace.

"The Palestinian people are at a crossroads," she said in a statement issued today. "Ahead are two paths, one that is free of violence and leads to a future of mutual cooperation and one that will continue Arafat's deadly legacy of bloodshed. It is my sincere and heartfelt hope that the path the Palestinians choose will be the path to peace."

Berkley supports President Bush's policy that the United States will not support a Palestinian state until it stops terrorists groups and acts of terrorism.

"How can you talk peace when with a gun to your head and they are blowing up your children,?" she said. "We wouldn't tolerate that."

She said even if Secretary of State Colin Powell resigns, the U.S. policy will remain the same.

"It takes a while for a new Secretary of State to get comfortable," she said "This (diplomacy in the Middle East) is like jumping into the deep end of the pool when you're just learning to swim."

Berkley will leave Israel Sunday for Washington, where Congress will start a lame-duck session on Monday to finalize some legislation before adjourning for the year.