Kindgo
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Wed Dec 25, 2:16 PM ET
By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM - The coming year can be a year of decision between war and peace, said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), kicking off his Likud Party's campaign on Wednesday ahead of Jan. 28 general elections.
Sharon pledged to work for peace with the Palestinians in the framework of a "national unity" government he would set up with archrival Labor, while rejecting Labor's peace proposals as "surrender to terrorism." Labor Party leaders say they would join a unity government only on the basis of their platform.
Likud Party activists gathered at Jerusalem's convention center for the official campaign kickoff, temporarily setting aside a growing scandal over alleged corruption in the party's selection process for candidates for parliament and the decision earlier Wednesday that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz cannot run for parliament because he has not been retired from the army long enough.
Sharon ignored the two issues but repeated his pledge to reappoint Mofaz as defense minister after the election, assuming he wins. Israeli Cabinet ministers do not have to be members of parliament.
Outlining his plans for peace with the Palestinians, which he said followed the vision of U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites), Sharon did not mention a Palestinian state. In interviews, Sharon has said he would accept a truncated, disarmed Palestinian state under strict conditions, a stand his Likud Party has repudiated.
The Bush plan, adpoted by the European Union (news - web sites), Russia and the United Nations (news - web sites), calls for creation of a provisional Palestinian state as early as next year.
Sharon claimed that some Palestinian leaders have told him that they want an end to terrorism and a new regime that would make democratic reforms. He did not name them, but declared, "We have no more confidence in the current Palestinian leadership," referring to Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), charging that he is a leader of terrorism.
Palestinians charge that Israel's continuing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites) and Sharon's ever-escalating military measures are responsible for the violence.
Sharon expressed pride in Israeli restrictions that have decimated the Palestinian economy and led to widespread poverty.
"The heads of Palestinian terror are under siege, a physical siege in which they are isolated and cut off, an economic siege in which we prevent them from using aid resources to finance additional terrorism against us, a political siege in which they have become political lepers," he said.
"The coming year can be the year of decision, a historic decision between war and peace," he said, adding that he is prepared for "real and painful concessions" in exchange for true peace. "It is closer than it appears, and I believe that. I will not allow this opportunity to slip through our fingers," he pledged.
His main opponent, Amram Mitzna of Labor, has proposed an unconditional pullout from the Gaza Strip and one year of negotiations with the Palestinians over the West Bank. If the negotiations are unsuccessful, he would draw Israel's border unilaterally and remove Jewish settlements on the Palestinian side.
Sharon charged that such proposals would bring more violence, not less. "A unilateral withdrawal would broadcast a message of weakness that would bring all our enemies to our doorstep, that would show them that the time has come to deliver the final blow to the Jewish state," he warned.
Polls show that Sharon's Likud is leading but has lost some ground because of the election corruption allegations.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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