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Gaza just the beginning
- Palestinian Minister
says Israel must vacate other territories to achieve
peace After Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza evacuation plan
is implemented this summer, Israel will need to withdraw from other
areas if it wants to achieve peace with its neighbors, Palestinian
negotiation minister Saeb Erakat told WND in an exclusive interview
today. 
As Israel prepares to retreat from Gaza, Hamas is on the march: Of
course Gaza cannot be the end of it. There needs to be a process.
Peace requires a two-state solution, one that includes Jerusalem,"
said Erekat, speaking to WND from the West Bank. We will ask for the right of return of the Pleastinianrefugees who fled their homes in 1948, and many of whom still posses the keys to those homes. What is unsaid here is that we will finally push the Jews into the Sea - a cherished goal of the Palestinians.
Dradio_____________________ "Of
course Gaza cannot be the end of it. There needs to be a process.
Peace requires a two-state solution, one that includes Jerusalem,"
said Erekat, speaking to WND from the West Bank. Sharon this
summer plans to evacuate all Jewish communities from the Gaza Strip
and four from West Bank settlements. He has said there would be no
more withdrawals after his plan is carried out, but Israeli officials
have hinted at giving up other territories, including eastern
Jerusalem. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose statements are
considered closely aligned with Sharon's policy, said in June he is
willing to cede Israeli control over at least six Arab neighborhoods
that lie on the periphery of Jerusalem. "Jerusalem is dear to me, but
one must not lose sight of proportions over peripheral areas we do
not need," Olmert said. Is seems that the history of Ehud Barak's
experience with the Palestinians is about to be repeated
now. Israel has been holding talks with Palestinian security
officials about coordinating the withdrawal to ensure an orderly
transition of power in Gaza. A summit between Sharon and Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is planned for June 21 to further
discuss methods of cooperation.
Erekat said the PA is interested in working with Sharon's office and
has taken steps to temper Hamas violence. "Absolutely we want to do
this together," Erekat said. "We will do our best to make sure
everything is done peacefully. Now we are trying to bring calm to the
areas."
Hamas regularly fires mortar and Qassam rockets into the Jewish Gaza
communities. A rocket attack this week killed two workers in a Jewish
greenhouse. Analysts have warned the attacks will escalate as the
Gaza withdrawal draws closer so Hamas can claim it has driven Israel
from the area. Critics worry that after the Gaza evacuation Hamas
will use the territory gained to stage rocket attacks deeper inside
Israel and say the terror group is poised to assume control of Gaza.
Erekat conceded Hamas may gain control in Gaza after the
withdrawal is carried out. "We are having elections and whoever wins
elections will be in charge," said Erekat. Hamas won 77 out of 118
council seats in municipal elections in the Gaza Strip in January and
is widely expected to do well in upcoming parliamentary elections,
which the PA has been trying to delay, sources say, for fear of a
Hamas victory. Story Credits: Aaron
Klein writing in the WorldNetDaily.com
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