Christian Message Boards: Rumsfeld's View

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Posted by Kindgo (Member # 2) on :

Aug 6, 2002

Rumsfeld Doubts Israel Can Deal With Palestinian Authority
By Barry Schweid Ap Diplomatic Writer
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday "there is no question" the Palestinian Authority has been involved with terrorist activities despite promises to enforce security.
Rumsfeld said he doubted Israel could turn over territory to the authority. It would be different "if you are giving it to an entity that has a track record," he said.

Taking questions at a Pentagon question-and-answer session with military and civilian workers, Rumsfeld declined to call on Israel to abandon Jewish settlements. And he referred to the West Bank as "so-called occupied territory," signaling that he did not share the Bush administration's view of Israel's presence on the land.

"My feelings about the so-called occupied territories are that there was a war," Rumsfeld said. "Israel urged neighboring countries not to get involved in it once it started. They all jumped in and they lost a lot of real estate to Israel because Israel prevailed in the conflict."

Rumsfeld apparently referred to Jordan, which held the West Bank and east Jerusalem until it joined Egypt and Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel won and Jordan lost the territory.

Since then, Rumsfeld said, Israel repeatedly has offered to pull back but "at no point has it been agreed upon by the other side."

At some point, the defense secretary said "there will be some sort of an entity that will be established" which Israel can deal with securely. "Maybe it will take some Palestinian expatriates coming back into the region and providing the kind of responsible government that would give confidence that you could make an arrangement with that would stick," he said.

As for Jewish settlements on the West Bank, Rumsfeld said "it's hard to know" whether they would be given up by Israel.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is preparing to meet later in the week with a delegation of Palestinians headed by Saeb Erekat, a longtime aide to Yasser Arafat, whose removal President Bush has demanded.

AP-ES-08-06-02 1309EDT

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAYHEW1K4D.html