No Change in Tactics on Intifada, Shamir Says
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said Monday that his government has no plans to change the way it is handling the uprising in the occupied territories as part of its latest bid to bring peace to the region.
“It doesn’t depend on the Israeli government,” he told a news conference during a visit here with Midwestern Jewish leaders. “The existing tension is a result of acts of violence carried out by the people of the intifada (the Arabic name of the uprising).
“The moment this violence will stop or be reduced, then the tension will disappear,” he said.
The uprising, now 17 months old, has taken more than 400 lives, the great bulk of them Palestinian.
Shamir has proposed elections in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip for the selection of negotiators who would deal with Israel on the permanent status of the areas.
The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Arab League both rejected Shamir’s election proposal Monday. In Tunisia, a PLO spokesman said the idea is “totally unacceptable” since the elections would be held “in the shadow of Israeli occupation.”
The PLO said that elections should be held under international supervision after Israel has withdrawn.
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