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Israel critical of possible meeting { December 2 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200312%5CFOR20031202c.html http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200312%5CFOR20031202c.html Israel Critical of Possible Powell Meeting With Geneva Accord Planners By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief December 02, 2003 Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Israeli officials were quietly critical Tuesday about the possibility that Secretary of State Colin Powell would meet with the planners of the Geneva Accord, an alternative peace plan signed in Switzerland on Monday. Israeli officials said such a meeting would signal American endorsement of the plan, which Israel rejects. The Geneva Accord was formulated unofficially by Israelis and Palestinians who met in secret. It became was presented publicly in mid-October. It claims to lay out a plan for resolving the most crucial issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including divided sovereignty over Jerusalem; the removal of Israeli settlements from the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and the right of return for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and millions of their descendants. Israeli officials and politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have blasted the accord. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat welcomed the negotiators' efforts, but officials in his Fatah faction have condemned the initiative and thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets to protest against it. In a letter read at Monday's signing ceremony, Arafat hailed the accord as "a brave initiative that opens the door to peace." Palestinian officials have said that Arafat did not endorse the accord but rather backed it to show support for the Israeli left and create a split within Israel. Financially and logistically backed by Switzerland, the unofficial initiative has gained overwhelming international support. Secretary of State Powell has welcomed this initiative and others, although he has said the U.S. is still committed to President Bush's vision of a two-state solution - as outlined in the official road map peace plan. According to the State Department, Powell is willing to meet with representatives from the Geneva Accord group. Israeli media reports have said that he will meet with the top Israeli and Palestinian initiators, including former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and former PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo later this week. Dr. Dore Gold, senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, declined to comment directly on the proposed meeting with Powell, but he said the international community should recognize that the people who negotiated this initiative are not democratically elected and are linked to a known supporter of terrorism. "Negotiations should only be conducted by the democratically elected government," Gold said in a telephone interview. "This is a case of Israeli politicians who lost the last election engaging with representatives of Yasser Arafat, whose association with terrorism has been documented and presented before every serious intelligence organization in the world," Gold said. "The response of the international community should reflect the fact that both parties to the initiative have serious problems. One side was not democratically elected [and] is presenting itself as a delegation of Israel. The other side has not proven any adherence to the Quartet road map but is tied to Yasser Arafat. "So to embrace this Geneva negotiation flies in the face of democratic sentiments in Israel and its ongoing struggle against Arafat's terrorism," Gold said. Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was more blunt. "[Powell] is making a mistake," Olmert said, referring to Powell's anticipated meeting with the Geneva planners. "I think that he is not being useful to the process," he said. "This is an incorrect step by a senior representative of the American administration," Olmert said in a radio interview. "I am certain of his friendship [toward Israel], but I would cast doubt on his judgment in this matter." Israeli Knesset Member Yuli Tamir, one of those in the Israeli delegation to Geneva, said Powell's agreement to meet with the group signals U.S. backing for the plan. "I think it's a very important meeting," Tamir said in an Israel Radio interview. He called it "the beginning of an American endorsement of the initiative." sb100sa100 Tamir said the Geneva supporters would now take the initiative door-to-door to Israelis and Palestinians to explain and promote the plan. Copies of the initiative were already mailed to nearly every Israeli home and published in Palestinian newspapers.

Eu welcomed unofficial peace accord { December 3 2003 } Geneva accord allows partial right of return Israel critical of possible meeting { December 2 2003 } Israel says powell making mistake meeting symbolic plan Israel slams powell over invitation to geneva Israel to powell skip meeting Symbolic peace accord authors meet wolfowitz World heavyweights lend their support Files Listed: 8

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