Spokesman for Arafat General Comment: Peres exhibits a flippant attitude toward the most serious subjects. His remarks concerning Arafat reflect this insouciant, devil-may-care approach to the core issues of Israel's survival. When serious questions concerning Arafat's behavior are raised, he shrugs them off with frivolous quips. To this day, Peres is unwilling to recognize any serious divergence in goals, values, interests and mode of behavior between Israel and Arafat. }~ Arafat is no doubt not a Swiss clock, for which you get a three-year guarantee upon purchase. (New York Times, September 1, 2001) }~ Arafat is our partner. He was elected. (Speech to Washington Institute for Near East Policy, reported by Associated Press, May 2, 2001) }~ [On being asked if Arafat is an enemy of Israel] No, he is a partner who is making serious mistakes. (Arutz Sheva News Service, March 29, 2001) COMMENT: "Yasir Arafat did not prove to be a partner for peace and quite probably will not be one in the future. . . . Mr. Arafat has violated almost every agreement he has signed with Israel in both letter and spirit." (Op-ed by Ehud Barak in New York Times, July 30, 2001) }~ [Asked "Is it fair to say Arafat has not yet made a strategic decision between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas?" Peres replies:] The choice is not between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas, but peace with himself. (Interview by David Makovsky, Jerusalem Post International Edition, April 20, 1996) COMMENT: Article 27 of the Hamas Charter states in part: "The PLO is among the closest to Hamas, for it constitutes a father, a brother, a relative, a friend." }~ [Asked if he believes Arafat] I don't believe Mr. Arafat, I believe in signed things with American guarantees along with the support of the world. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, Dec. 12, 1997) COMMENT: If he doesn't believe Arafat, why sign agreements with him? }~ [Challenged as to whether Arafat has any intention of making peace, Peres responded:] How do they know what is really happening in the heart of a leader? All they have is words, but that is just part of the story. (Interview with Peres, The Jerusalem Post, July 12, 2001) COMMENT: It is a major responsibility of Israel's Foreign Minister to assess Arafat's intentions, based upon his words and actions. QQ }~ Papers are papers and realities are realities. We cannot judge the PLO and its leader just by what he is saying. Would we do so, we would be completely wrong and we would be in troubles. (Heritage, Los Angeles, June 3, 1994) QQ }~ (Responding to Arafat's exhortation of an Arab audience to Jihad against Israel and his praise of suicide bombers as "martyrs and heroes") What counts is not the intentions of the Palestinians. [Pressed by the journalist: Are you saying that it makes no difference whether Arafat genuinely wants peace or just wants to get as much as he can?] PERES: Yes, I do believe it is irrelevant. (Jerusalem Post International Edition, August 26, 1995) COMMENT: Note the similarity of these last two statements, made years earlier, to the one made on July 12, 2001 above. For a Foreign Minister to say that the intentions of the opposing party are "irrelevant" boggles the mind. }~ [Asked if he was disappointed by Arafat's violations of Oslo] I am never disappointed about others. I cannot replace them: but I am disappointed with our government. (Australia/Israel Review, June 6-26, 1997) COMMENT: Peres turns the question around to attack his own government. ++ }~ Arafat wants one day without funerals. Why can't the IDF do this? (Mabat, Israel Television Channel One, Nov. 8, 2000) COMMENT: For Peres the problem is not the ongoing murderous attacks by the P.A., but the IDF's attempts to defend Israel's citizens. }~ We too and not just [the Palestinians] need to lower the level of incitement. When we say we will liquidate them, destroy them, banish them, that is incitement. (Haaretz, August 13, 2001) COMMENT: Peres sets up a phony straw man, an unidentified "we" that calls for destroying and liquidating the Palestinians. }~ [Addressing the Socialist International Meeting in Oslo, May 18, 1998] Thank you, comrade President, my dear friend Yasser Arafat, dear friends! I share the concern of Yasser Arafat in many ways. (Text of speech distributed by Middle East Political Forum) }~ When I am coming to Oslo — I think the same goes for Arafat — this is our first loved place (Speech to Socialist International, Oslo, May 18, 1998) COMMENT: At that very meeting Arafat viciously assailed Israel. }~ [When TV talk show host Arieh Golan pointed out that Arafat calls for implementation of UN Resolutions 181 and 194, i.e. Israel becoming three small islands according to the 1947 partition plan, plus return of the Arab refugees, Peres replied:] So Arafat exaggerates. (Israel Radio News Magazine, November 5, 2000) QQ }~ (After Peres briefed American officials on the then secret agreement with the PLO). "Are you sure Arafat will live up to his commitments?" Ross asked. "Yes" I replied. "He conceded on Jerusalem because he wants Gaza." (Peres, Battling for Peace, p. 305) }~ [French filmmaker Serge Moati, who made a documentary film Shimon Peres: A Fight for Peace, recorded an exchange between Peres and Arafat at the Erez checkpoint in 1994. Pulling a letter from Arafat out of his pocket, Peres harangued him:] I suggest not to write letters. Because if you write, we shall have to answer. We shall answer, we shall begin to complain. We shall say you didn't hand over to us the prisoners, you didn't do this and that, which will kill the Palestinian story in the American Congress. Because if we shall write a letter like this and it will reach the American press, it will be a catastrophe. And you know we are working today for the Palestinian cause in the American Congress more than you are. (Jerusalem Post International Edition, June 1, 1996) COMMENT: Peres admits that he is working harder for the Palestinian cause in the American Congress than Arafat himself. QQ }~ (In 1993, after Arafat read Peres's speech to the European Parliament calling for economic aid to the Palestinians) Arafat had said he was not surprised; he knew, he had explained, that I was capable of saying and doing things on behalf of the Palestinians that many Arab states would neither say nor do. (Peres, Battling for Peace, p. 302) QQ }~ I think the Palestinian people should be more supportive of Arafat. Arafat brought them a great thing. After 28 years of idling around, of having nothing, he brought them something tangible. . . . Arafat kept the Palestinian issue for 29 years on the agenda, as a leader. (Meeting with Palestinian journalists, Jerusalem, March 8, 1994) COMMENT: During those 28 years Arafat was murdering Israeli civilians. Yet Peres argues that Arafat has been insufficiently appreciated. }~ The past of Arafat can be praised even if it is a little bit unpleasant. (Speech to the International Jewish Media Conference, January 30, 1996) }~ He [Arafat] fights terror, he changed the covenant exactly as he pledged. Both the fighting of terror and the changing of the covenant is a new development in the last hundred years. (New York Times, April 25, 1996) COMMENT: This is Defense #1. Arafat does all he promises. In fact, Arafat has never changed the Covenant and continues to abet terror. }~ [Asked by an interviewer for the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot if he thinks Arafat will fight terrorism, Peres replies] It depends on us. (Yediot Achronot, Oct. 1, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #2: Peres puts the blame on Israel. }~ [After yet another cease-fire agreement negotiated by Peres was violated by the Palestinians, Peres explained:] "His [Arafat's] situation is not simple either. He says that there is so much anger and hatred that he has to overcome." (Haaretz, October 1, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #3: Arafat is doing the best he can. }~ [When Arafat's personal security guard organized attacks on Israel, Peres said it was] without his [Arafat's] knowledge, but now he should be aware of this. (New York Times, March 30, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #4: Arafat doesn't know what his subordinates are doing. }~ [When Sharon blamed Arafat for attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians] Some dissident groups and some forces under Arafat participated in the killings without the knowledge of Arafat. (Speech to Washington Institute for Near East Policy, May 2, 2001) COMMENT: Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak writes: "During the last 10 months, based on intelligence information, I believe that Mr. Arafat has been guiding terrorism activities and has turned a blind eye to terror attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad." (New York Times, July 30, 2001) }~ [Asked on the Larry King show why there has been recent fighting between Israel and the Palestinians] "I think the story is now revealing itself. There are three or four armed groups among the Palestinians. It is for Mr. Arafat to decide, either he's going to control all of them or he'll become a prisoner of them and become a victim of them. Most of the killing and shooting were done by the Jihad and by the Hamas. It's an assault of private organizations and private arms. Arafat has to decide, either he will control them or be controlled by them". (Transcript of Peres interview by Larry King on CNN, October 7, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #5:Peres shifts the blame to "three or four armed groups," claiming they threaten Arafat. }~ [At a press conference with the foreign press] The question was that our Prime Minister sees Arafat as the person who is responsible for terror. Do I share his view? I think where we share our views is that Arafat is the man that should be responsible for stopping terror. We are not looking whom to blame, but we are looking who should be addressed in order to implement what was agreed in Oslo. Namely, that we shall work out our differences peacefully, not by shooting. (Transcript issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 10, 2001). COMMENT: Defense #6:Even if Arafat is responsible, it is a bad idea to blame him. }~ We have to think in alternatives. It is not a beauty contest, where we are going to elect the most beautiful lady. (New York Times, Oct. 21, 2001) }~ Let's say that we do finish him [Arafat]. What will happen next? With all of the criticism directed against Arafat, he is the only Palestinian who recognizes the map where Israel and Jordan exist. In fact, Israel's map doesn't even appear on new Palestinian textbooks. [If he is gone] Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah will come in his place. They will try to establish one state between Iraq and the ocean. Arafat wants to speak with us, whereas they want to do here what they did in Lebanon. Arafat wishes to be accepted by the West, whereas they could care less about the West. At one point, Arafat wanted to abandon terrorism, whereas they are full- time terrorists. (Interview with Peres, Yediot Achronot, Oct. 1, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #7: The alternatives to Arafat are worse. But if Arafat recognizes the map with Israel on it, why does Israel not appear in the new Arafat-controlled Palestinian textbooks? Never once does Peres consider that Israel would be well-advised to seek alternatives to the entire terror network, Arafat included. }~ PERES: There is no compromise with terrorism. YEDIOT ACHRONOT INTERVIEWER: And what about the Tanzim? PERES: I asked Arafat. What about Marwan Bargouti? Instead of answering my question, Arafat asked me about one of the right wing ministers in the Israeli government. (Interview, Yediot Achronot, October 1, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #8:Peres endorses Arafat's game of distancing himself from the terrorism he sponsors by making spurious moral equivalencies. }~ [Told by an interviewer that there is a widespread impression that Peres is always there to rescue Arafat when he gets in trouble, both at the inception of Oslo in 1993 and today, Peres replies:] It is not Arafat who I rescue but rather ourselves. There is also a moral consideration here. We do not need to control another people. (Yediot Achronot, Oct. 1, 2001) COMMENT: Defense #9 is the ultimate one: Arafat serves Israel's highest interest, her moral interest, by relieving her of the burden of ruling another people. }~ In the letter appended to the Oslo agreements, Arafat crossed the Rubicon and committed to move from bullets to words: the PLO recognizes the State of Israel's right to exist in peace and security and commits to resolve problems by peaceful means. It is written. (Article by Peres, Yediot Achronot, September 17, 2001) COMMENT: Peres believes that if something is written, it is real. Yet in 1992, his own Foreign Office had published a document showing that Arafat had violated every single one of the 200 agreements he had entered into with other Arab states! }~ Words nowadays are as dangerous as bullets. And I thought, and still think, that Arafat, by using the right words, can gain much more for his people than by firing bullets or by using bombs or using human bombs. (Interview on CNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Matthews, August 15, 2001) COMMENT: Here is Peres counseling Arafat to sabotage Israel by a means more effective than bullets. }~ [Praising the Mitchell report as a joint U.S.-European document] There is harmonization and God bless the harmonization. I think that as long as they work together, the better it will be. What unites them is the fight against terror. What may break this is we shall begin to delegitimize Arafat. For us, the harmonization of Europe and America is more important than to break it in order to single out Arafat. (Interview, The Jerusalem Post, July 12, 2001) COMMENT: Europe backs Arafat, and should America "harmonize" its policy with that of Europe, Israel's continued existence is at serious risk. Israel's best hope is in delegitimizing Arafat, precisely what Peres argues against. }~ Arafat's statements in Durban were harsh and disappointing. I was sorry to hear his speech from there, especially because we expect him to end the incitement. But there is a need for meetings with him, and that is why we are making an effort to set a place and time. (Jerusalem Post, September 3, 2001) COMMENT: How about an end to incitement before a meeting? }~ [Describing why a cease-fire would be desirable from the Palestinian viewpoint] ". . . Arafat's greatest gain [over the years] was world recognition of the Palestinian issue and the legitimacy given him. I don't think he wants to lose that legitimacy." (Jerusalem Post, August 28, 2001). COMMENT: Peres admits that Oslo conferred the "greatest gain" upon Arafat and brought "world recognition of the Palestinian issue." A strange set of achievements for an Israeli Foreign Minister. }~ [In the wake of the horrific terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, Peres stated] This is a genuine opportunity for [Arafat] to get out of the world of terrorism, and this is in fact the real test. He cannot hang on to both things at once, no one can, simultaneously busying himself with terror and at the same time being accepted by the world. What happened yesterday in America sharpened this choice into one that can no longer be a matter of compromise. (Haaretz, September 12, 2001) COMMENT: After 8 years of Oslo, Peres discovers Arafat is still a terrorist! }~ There isn't one thing that has happened in this peace process that those guys . . . in the Mossad predicted, not one. You know, they were telling us that Arafat will never agree to anything. (Reuters, May 6, 1995) COMMENT: The Mossad was right. Arafat makes agreements — he just never carries them out. }~ [Peres claimed that talking to the Palestinian Authority while it continued murdering Israeli citizens was not negotiating under fire, but rather] negotiation of a cease-fire. This has to be done with the person who has the most influence on the ground, and that person is Arafat. (Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post Online, Sept. 26, 2001). COMMENT: On this reasoning the U.S. should negotiate with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. QQ }~ (Asked about Arafat's Johannesburg speech stating that the peace with Israel is temporary, similar to that between Mohammed and the Quraysh tribe): I am not certain that Arafat and Mohammed resemble one another . . . I am not their lawyer . . . I have no doubt, however, that he was drawn into a harmful speech. (Interview on Kol Israel, May 23, 1994). COMMENT: As for Peres' flippant "I am not their lawyer," he was certainly acting in a manner more appropriate for Arafat's lawyer than for Israel's Foreign Minister. }~ [Asked what it was like to negotiate with Arafat after many years of no communication between Israel and the PLO] "Well, it was . . . a surprise. All your life you live in a world of images. We saw Arafat so much in films and on television and read so much about him — all of a sudden to encounter a human being with the weaknesses and strengths and the differences and the likes and the dislikes that are part of being human, makes you realize that none of us is perfect". (Transcript of interview with Mark Marvel, July, 1995, www.findarticles.com). COMMENT: It is difficult to imagine an American Secretary of State coming out of a meeting with Saddam Husssein or Osama bin Laden to discover "that none of us is perfect." }~ [At a press conference with the Norwegian Foreign Minister a reporter asked, "Mr. Sharon has compared Arafat to bin Laden; what's your opinion on that?" Peres responded] "I am very poor in comparisons. I don't believe that Mr. Arafat is Mr. Bin Laden. These are two things apart. Arafat was elected the leader of the Palestinians. . . . In the Oslo agreement we agreed to solve our differences without violence, and our call to Mr. Arafat is to remain true to the Oslo spirit" (Transcript issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 24, 2001) COMMENT: In the never-never-land occupied by Shimon Peres, Oslo is alive and well and the PA is a democracy. }~ [When an interviewer tells Peres that the Israel Defense Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon "had it with Arafat when he realized that Arafat was lying to his face," Peres replies] I don't know any one person in the Middle East who speaks nothing but the truth. So what do you suggest that we do? Take a vacation, immigrate to Uganda, and wait until they learn to speak the truth? (Interview, Yediot Achronot, October 1, 2001) COMMENT: Peres assumes that Israel's choice is either to satisfy Arafat or "move to Uganda." Apparently it does not occur to Peres that Arafat should move to Uganda. }~ [Asked by the Yediot Achronot interviewer if he thought Arafat would abide by the most recent ceasefire agreement he had concluded with him, Peres replies] What is so bad with the ceasefire that we have reached in Beit Jallah? It has been two months and no shots have been fired on Jerusalem. Even a week would be good. Even one day. (Yediot Achronot, October 1, 2001) COMMENT: Within two weeks of this statement Arafat's forces were firing from Beit Jallah.