Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Diplomat speaks about Israeli concerns

The top Israeli diplomat in the United States said his country will not set a timetable for new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to deal with terrorists as long as Israel sees results.

Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon said during a 30-minute interview at the Venetian Tuesday that Abbas must show he is willing to expend the political capital he gained in his runaway election victory last week to replace the late Yasser Arafat.

"We were encouraged by the landslide Abbas got," Ayalon said. "Unfortunately, the tasting is in the pudding and we have to see action on the ground. If he doesn't follow his promises, I don't see a way out of this current impasse."

Three weeks ago, a Palestinian poll showed that 54 percent of Palestinians wanted an end to terrorism, Ayalon said. Abbas then came through with 63 percent of the vote in an election that produced a 68-percent turnout.

The Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon welcomed Abbas' victory as long as Abbas was willing to deal with the dozen terrorist organizations that operate in Gaza and the West Bank.

But six Israeli civilians were killed at a Gaza Strip crossing after Abbas' victory and five others were injured on Tuesday in Gaza by a suicide bomber, with the violent group Hamas claiming responsibility.

"Abbas can act simply by deploying his troops," Ayalon said. "His troops outnumber the terrorist organizations 10 to one. And he has a mandate from the people. It's not enough for him to simply request of the terrorists or kindly ask them to stop the terrorism.

"His authority has been challenged and if the terrorism continues, he has a problem as a leader. What is expected and demanded by the international community is that he dismantle the terrorist organizations. We expect Abbas to exert maximum effort to end terrorism. But we don't even see 1-percent effort on the ground."

Ayalon made his comments before giving a Tuesday night lecture at UNLV on "Prospects for Peace in the Middle East," part of the Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series. Greenspun is publisher of the Las Vegas Sun.

Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the U.S. since July 2002, served as deputy foreign policy adviser from 1997 through 2001 to then-Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu before becoming Sharon's chief foreign policy adviser.

In the interview, Ayalon said that Israel "would not like to limit ourselves or the Palestinians with any timetable."

"We would very much like to move ahead but the progress can only be measured by achievement on the ground," he said. "The first thing is if we see the end of attacks on Israelis. There has to be a stop to the mortar fire on our cities. There should be an end to the hateful rhetoric and incitement. And they have to stop all of those summer camps for 3-year-olds and up, where they teach them to be suicide bombers."

Israel also expects Abbas to order interrogations and arrests of key terrorists, Ayalon said.

"We are willing to give him enough time and space to do all of these things," he said. "We realize he can't do it overnight."

Even with the suicide bombing that occurred Tuesday, Abbas was meeting with militant leaders in Gaza in an effort to reach a cease fire with Israel.

"The expectation is that he will not leave Gaza without a firm deal," Ayalon said. "We see a cease fire as a first step."

The Sharon government, which holds a narrow majority in the Israeli Knesset, still plans to withdraw militarily from Palestinian neighborhoods in Gaza and portions of the West Bank by summer, even if Abbas is not the effective leader Israel would like him to be.

Ayalon said the hope is that Palestinians will warm up to the idea of dismantling the terrorist organizations if they see that the Israeli "disengagement" from Gaza and parts of the West Bank is sincere.

The timing of Ayalon's visit to Las Vegas also coincided with the appearance of Condoleezza Rice at a Senate confirmation hearing as President Bush's Secretary of State nominee. Ayalon said he considers Rice to be a close friend and expects no change in U.S.-Israeli relations if she replaces Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"Both are great Americans and great leaders representing the policy of the United States and the president," Ayalon said. "Condoleezza Rice is a great personal friend of mine. As national security adviser she has been intimately involved with us in the talks regarding disengagement. We believe she will pick up the ball and hit the ground running."

While Israel welcomes U.S. diplomatic efforts, Ayalon said it ultimately rests with his country and the Palestinians to negotiate directly.

He also expressed hope that the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq to choose a new government will benefit the entire Middle Eastern region by spreading democracy.

"Probably it will be less than perfect but I think it will be a success," Ayalon said of the election. "It's important for Iraqi leadership to work as soon as possible so they can be more successful at confronting terrorism."

Meantime, Israel is staying out of the way when it comes to Iraqi affairs and will not make the first move at attempting diplomacy with the new government.

"We will not push for that," Ayalon said. "We will let them make their own house. When they are ready (for diplomacy) I assume we'll be as well."

The only question that made Ayalon uneasy had to do with a report this week from New Yorker magazine investigative reporter Seymour Hersh that the United States was engaged in secret operations in Iran and was preparing to attack that country because of its suspected nuclear and chemical weapons programs. Hersh's reporting was criticized by the Pentagon.

"I have no idea who his sources are," Ayalon said. "I have no comment on that."

After his speech at UNLV, one of the approximately 2,000 people in the audience asked Ayalon about Iran.

"Iran is the most dangerous strategic threat in the region, not just to Israel," Ayalon said, adding that the scope and volume of nuclear activities in Iran is "enormous."

"They must be stopped," Ayalon said.

A nuclear-armed Iran actively promoting terrorism could become emboldened in the near future, "not to mention a nuclear arms race with their neighbors," Ayalon said.

If Iran possesses missiles with even intermediate range, it poses "a grave threat to Israel and every other nation in the region," Ayalon said.

Asked how an Iranian threat could be stopped, the ambassador said it will take a united international community effort, not like the Iraq war, which pitted the international community against the United States.

Ayalon said that he does not believe that the Iranian population will tolerate a hostile leadership.

"We live in a very, very dangerous neighborhood," Ayalon said, adding that Iran, Syria and Palestine all could be harboring more terrorists.

Sun reporter Mary Manning contributed to this story.

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