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Palestinian Calls Reported U.S. Bid to End Protests ‘Impossible’

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From Times Wire Services

A high-ranking Palestinian official Sunday described as “impossible” a reported Bush Administration proposal that Palestinians end demonstrations in the Israeli-occupied territories to ease tensions.

Speaking during an international meeting of Palestinians and Israelis in New York, Nabil Shaath, chairman of the political committee of the Palestine National Conference, said: “It is impossible to ask us to stop the intifada (uprising) just to build confidence. The intifada is our only weapon.

“It is the reason for Palestinian unity and the mother of the current peace process.”

The New York Times reported in its Sunday editions that the Bush Administration plans to propose that both Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization take steps to ease tension in the Israeli-occupied territories.

Reported U.S. Proposals

U.S. officials plan to ask Israel to release some of the Palestinians arrested during the 15-month uprising, end or limit detentions and reopen schools in the territories, the newspaper said, quoting an unidentified senior Administration official.

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A State Department official, asked about the report, confirmed that the suggestions are under consideration but said they are items for possible discussion, not a list of specific demands.

Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens arrived in Washington on Sunday for Israel’s first high-level contact with the new Administration. Arens is to meet today with President Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

The newspaper said the United States will ask PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to order a halt to the demonstrations in the occupied areas to help ease tensions and build confidence in the peace process.

‘Too Little, Too Late’

Shaath said the U.S. proposals were “too little and too late. We do not have a serious American initiative. This is merely a delay.”

He reiterated the PLO’s call for an international peace conference. “Let’s move to direct dialogue between the parties,” he urged.

Shaath said the Americans should “ask Israeli troops to withdraw from the crowded cities and the refugee camps so the clashes between the demonstrators and the occupying forces are ended.

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“We can’t talk about waiting and more waiting,” he said.

Shaath, who has often served as Arafat’s personal envoy, is the highest-ranking Palestinian appearing at the New York conference, which is sponsored jointly by the Israeli journal New Outlook and the Palestinian weekly newspaper Al Fajr.

‘Unbalanced, Unfair’

“These demands are unbalanced, unfair,” said Faisal Husseini, director of the Arab Studies Center in East Jerusalem and a top Palestinian leader in the occupied territories.

He said the reported U.S. proposals are flawed because “they are asking us to stop the demonstrations,” while Israel is being asked “the minimum.”

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