PM to tell UN: Israel’s responsibility for Gaza over

The main message Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will bring to meetings with world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly this week is that Israeli responsibility for the Gaza Strip has come to an end. His journey is designed to reap the political fruits of implementing the disengagement plan, which was completed Monday, and to demonstrate to the Israeli public the contribution of the Gaza pullout in bolstering the state’s international standing. Israel wants to strengthen international recognition for the end of its control of the Strip, and for the Palestinian Authority’s responsibility for the fate of Gaza and its residents. Sharon has adopted the Foreign Ministry’s position that it would be out of place to declare „the end of the occupation” in Gaza, at least as long as the Palestinians do not control the border crossings, airspace and territorial waters. Instead, the ministry prefers „the end of Israeli responsibility.” Israel will try to avoid a legal dispute with the Palestinians and will underscore the practical aspects of their new responsibility in Gaza. This will be Israel’s response to Palestinian claims that the Israeli occupation in the territories has only deepened. Sharon is to leave for New York on Tuesday. On Thursday, he will address the UN General Assembly, which this year will feature heads of state. In his speech, Sharon will highlight the step Israel made with the disengagement, and he will call on the Palestinians to take advantage of the opportunity and advance toward implementing the road map. Sharon will demand that the PA combat terrorism as a condition for progress in the peace process, and he will say that he will not discuss Jerusalem. He will speak in Hebrew, in time for the main news programs of Israeli television channels. While at the UN, Sharon will meet with U.S. President George W. Bush and the leaders of Russia, Turkey, Britain, Canada, Australia and the European Union, as well as the secretary general of the UN. Most Arab leaders will be absent from this year’s General Assembly. Sharon has a meeting scheduled with Jordan’s King Abdullah, and efforts are underway for a first encounter with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. There may be meetings with Arab and Muslim dignitaries, including a „hallway conversation” between Sharon and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is to leave tonight for the U.S., will meet for the first time with his Indonesian counterpart, Noer Hassan Wirajuda. Shalom will attend Sharon’s political meetings, and will meet separately with Arab foreign ministers, and also apparently with his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri, whom he met in Istanbul at the beginning of this month. Israel announced on Monday that it had canceled the need for a license to import from Pakistan. Industry, Trade and Employment Minister Ehud Olmert signed the exemption „in view of the warming relations with Pakistan,” and the Foreign Ministry hailed it as a signal that Israel was ready to advance trade relations with the largest Muslim country in Asia. Sharon will thank Bush for his support, political sources say, but will not mention Israel’s request for American aid to develop the Negev and Galilee in view of Hurricane Katrina. The sources say the aid application is on hold until a more suitable time. The Bush administration has been working behind the scenes to ensure that its European and Arab friends refrain from pressuring Sharon and focus on solidifying the disengagement accomplishments. BPI-info