World

Israel Warns Arafat: Not Yet

July 4, 2000 / 2:05 PM EDT / AP

A day after Yasser Arafat's government told Palestinians to prepare for statehood in September, Israel's justice minister says a proclamation of Palestinian independence is meaningless without Israeli agreement.

Yossi Beilin said such a move would leave the Palestinians cut off from the world, and from each other, noting that Israeli territory separates the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Beilin, a prime mover in the secret process that led to the first Israeli-Palestinian accord in 1993, said a unilateral Palestinian move at this stage could derail important gains.

"We are on the verge of the real thing. We are on the verge of an agreement with the Palestinians and it would be a very big mistake if at that moment they decide to unilaterally declare their own state," Beilin said Tuesday.

On Monday, the PLO Central Council called on Arafat to move toward a declaration of statehood on Sept. 13, the latest target date for completing a peace treaty with Israel. However, it did not call for a unilateral declaration.

But Palestinian officials said such a declaration would not necessarily be made on Sept. 13 and Arafat has told officials to consult Palestinian public opinion about the timing.

In a poll conducted before the Central Council decision, 51.6 percent of Palestinians surveyed did not believe a state would be declared on Sept. 13, while 37.8 percent felt it would happen. The poll, conducted by the independent JMCC media consulting firm on June 22-23, questioned 1,200 adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Arafat said Tuesday that the PCC's intention was to implement previous leadership decisions, "especially the one taken in Algiers in 1988." At that time, before peacemaking with Israel, the Palestinians unilaterally declared a state but did not outline the boundaries of the entity.

Israel has warned that if a unilateral declaration is made, it might retaliate by annexing parts of the West Bank still under its control, a move that could quickly spiral into violent confrontation.

Beilin said such a declaration would have little meaning. "A Palestinian state will not exist as long as Israel does not recognize it," he told Israel radio.

In peace talks, the Palestinians have said their goal was the creation of a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital. In interim stages, Israel has turned over two-thirds of the Gaza Strip and 41 percent of the West Bank to Palestinian control.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's government has indicated that it is prepared to turn over most of the remaining territory to the Palestinians, but wants to keep sections where most Israeli settlers live. Barak has said repeatedly that he will not relinquish Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem.

President Bill Clinton spoke by phone to Barak and Arafat on Monday: Clinton is considering hosting a summit eeting with the two leaders to hammer out a framework for a final peace treaty. Israel favors a summit, but the Palestinians say the gaps are still too wide.