Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak took a rather threatening tone today. Speaking at the dedication of a new bridge near Ismailia, he called on the U.S. to stop supplying Israel with “blind military aid.” Mubarak said that Israel’s neighbors may respond by stocking up on “weapons of mass slaughter – nuclear, chemical and biological” – and that this may lead to a catastrophe.

Media sources today quoted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying that negotiations must begin even as the violence continues. Powell reportedly said he erred in agreeing to the Tenet condition of “seven days of quiet” before beginning the implementation of the Mitchell Report (the May 2001 document that recommended the freezing of all settlement activity, including ‘natural growth,’ the evacuation of ‘isolated settlements’ such as that in Hevron, and the ‘unconditional cessation by both sides’ of violence.) It is also rumored that Powell will withdraw his support for the Tenet Agreement in a major policy speech he will deliver next week.

Minister Danny Naveh (Likud) said today, “I’m not sure if he [Powell] said what is attributed to him, but in my opinion we must not give in at all, and we must stand on our own. But even if we were to begin negotiations now – with whom would we do it? I don’t see that we have a partner for peace.”

MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), in the midst of a visit to the U.S. where he is presenting the Israeli position to American audiences, has scathing criticism of a fellow Israeli supposedly doing the same. Former Minister Yossi Beilin (Labor), an Oslo-agreement architect and now a private citizen, is also in the U.S., trying to garner support for his own peace plans. Shteinitz says that Beilin’s meetings are causing “unprecedented damage to Israel’s immediate security,” and, “I would almost say that Beilin is a fifth column for Israel on the diplomatic plane.”

The security mini-cabinet convened in Jerusalem this morning to deal mainly with one question: Will he or won’t he stop the terrorism? Defense officials told the ministers that Yasser Arafat is facing increasing internal pressure to stop the Palestinian violence against Israel. Military and GSS intelligence elements, on the other hand, believe that Arafat will not give in to these pressures. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that pressure is being exerted upon Arafat from three directions: the PA, the U.S., and Europe.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2001 and is filed under news.