Israeli Tanks Storms Arafat's Compound
With Mark Regev
Israeli Embassy Spokesman
Friday, March 29, 2001; Noon EST
Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli embassy was online Friday, March 29 at Noon EST, to talk about the heightened military action to seek out Arafat and the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
"Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers stormed the compound sheltering Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah early today, firing rockets and knocking down parts of a perimeter wall.
The raid came in retaliation for a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 26 Israelis in two days and followed an urgent appeal by Arafat on Thursday night for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire." Read the full story Israel Storms Arafat Offices in West Bank (Post, March 29, 2002).
Regev currently serves as spokesman at the Embassy
of Israel in Washington, D.C. Since 1991, Regev served
in various positions at the Foreign Ministry, including deputy
chief of mission at the Consulate General in Hong Kong,
spokesman at the Embassy in Beijing and at the Jordan
Division at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem.
A transcript follows.
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Mark Regev: Israelis had a very traumatic passover. We had that murderous terrorist operation on the eve of Passover where some 20 Israelis were killed and a 130 were injured. That terrorist operation of course didn't happen in a vaccuum but it happened in an ongoing terrorist attack against Israeli civilians that has been continuing now for months. The Israeli government has decided that it must now take action to protect the lives of Israeli citizens and that is why Israeli forces are now active. Our military operation is defensive. It is designed to deal with the infrastructure of terrorism that has been targeting Israeli civilians. We have no intention to reoccupy the large Palestinians cities. When the operation is over, we will pull out.
Sarasota, Fla.:
Can you explain how the suicide attacks on Israeli's will be reduced by a frontal attack on Arafat's headquarters?
Mark Regev: The terrorism happens because Chairman Arafat ALLOWS it to happen. Over the last week most of the operations have been done by the military wing of Yassar Arafat's Fatah party. These people are loyal to Arafat - if they are conducting murderous terrorist attacks it is because Arafat is allowing them and giving the green light to do so. Other terrorist attacks have come from the other radical Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. These groups have found a safe haven in Arafat's terroritories and in his failure to reign them in, he is responsible for their actions. I think it is was President Bush himself who said "He who feeds a terrorist, he who funds a terrorist, he who provides a haven for the terrorist is as bad as the terrorist himself." Arafat is guilty on all three counts.
Los Angeles, Calif.:
Why do you think President Bush has not asked for restraint in the Israeli response to this recent round of terror attacks on Israelis? Is this a "non-statement" that really means Sharon has the blessing of the US gov't to retaliate full-scale?
Mark Regev: The Bush administration understands exactly what's going on. They sent to the region a special emissary, Anthony Zinni to bring about an immediate cease fire. Israel has been cooperating fully with the Zinni mission and we had ceased all military operations as an important confidence building measure. Prior to Zinni's arrival, Sharon offered a political concession and gave up on his demand for seven days of quiet before moving into the Tenant plan. Unfortunately, and this the administration in Washington knows very well, the Palestinians have not cooperated with Zinni. Since his arrival, we have had an increase in Palestinian terror and Daily.suicide bombings. It is almost as if Chairman Arafat sends one of his people to talk to Zinni about cease fire and sends another from his organization to blow up Israelis as they are shopping in the supermarket. I think both people in Jerusalem and Washington are sick and tired of Arafat's game.
Mt. Lebanon, Pa.:
When Israel announced that Arafat is personna non grata does that mean you folks are going to actually arrest, expel, or execute him or does it mean the rest of the world is going to have to watch many more years of your leaders mud wrestle with him? Frankly toying with this guy has been your recipe for disaster. And if Sharon isn't serious about removing Arafat, Sharon ought to fall on his sword. Thanks much.
Mark Regev: The government of Israel in the emergency cabinet meeting that ended late last night decided to ISOLATE Arafat. No decision has been taken to eliminate or exile him. Having said that, there is a realization in Israel as there is in the U.S. that Arafat is part of the problem and not part of the solution. Ideally, it would be best if the Palestinians decided that they would be better off with a different leadership. A leadership that wouldn't be less patriotic but would be more pragmatic. The Palestinians have much to gain by returning to the negotiating table. But while this war of terrorism continues, they can only expect Israel to stand steadfast.
Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Regev -
Thank you for coming on today. I am a tax-paying American citizen. My tax dollars contribute toward the annual $3 billion in aid that the US gives Israel. I cherish the ideals of human rights and justice. I am horrified at the way the IDF treats Palestinian civilians - unarmed civilians! Without engaging in double-speak, without blaming suicide bombers, please please please would you explain to America how Israel can justify this treatment? On what universal principle of human rights is it justifiable to shoot unarmed women and children? I am deeply ashamed that my government tacitly sanctions this sort of behavior. I mean you no disrespect, as you are doing a very difficult job. Please help us understand - and please don't blame innocent civilians for the actions of suicide bombers.
Thank you, and good wishes for Passover.
Mark Regev: Israel DOES NOT target innocent civilians. Israel makes a maximum effort only to conduct surgical operations against the terrorist and the military infrastructure in the Palestinian terrorities. We do not indiscriminantly shoot Palestinians, bomb their villages or shell their towns. The opposite is true. We send infantry to populated areas so as to surgically eliminate the terrorists either by arresting them or to eliminate them in the framework of combat. In doing so, we are endangering our own soldiers. As a former infantryman, I can tell you that there is nothing more dangerous than house-to-house fighting in a built up urban area. It would be much easier to bomb from the air or shell from a distance. But we DON'T do that precisely because we don't want to harm innocent civilians. We endanger the lives of our own fighting men in order to avoid, as much as possible, greater damage amongst Palestinian civilians. In this way, Israel operates like the the armed forces of other democratic societies like NATO in Yugoslavia and like the U.S. in Afghanistan. We are committed to universal human values and that is what distinguishes us from the Palestinian suicide bombers.
Minneapolis, Minn.:
Do you think by what Sharon is doing as of now, the people of Israel will live in peace?
Mark Regev: I hope so. The policy of the government of Israel towards Palestinian leadership is two-fold. One hand we say to the Palestinian leadership: If you return to the negotiating table, we are ready for serious negotiations and for some tough compromises. But on the other hand, if the Palestinian leadership continues with the current strategy of terrorism, there will be no Israeli concessions. And the logic behind that is simple. If you give into terrorist blackmail, you are encouraging any form of blackmail down the road. And it is for that reason that while we are willing to be flexible at the negotiating table, we will not offer concessions while terrorism continues. To do so, would only encourage terrorism. Terrorism must never be seen as paying a political dividend. If terrorists believe that they are succeeding in advancing a political agenda, what motivation do they have to stop?
Atlanta, Ga.:
If Israel sincerely want peace, then why did Sharon reject the unprecedented Saudi initiative? It's obvious that Sharon is a man of war and I think the Israeli people will be better off asking for a new Isreali leader instead of worrying about removing the Palestenian leader.
Mark Regev: I would remind you that Ariel Sharon paid a pivotal role in paving the way for peace between Israel and Egypt. It was Sharon who removed the Jewish settlements from northern Sinai. Similarly, Sharon paid a crucial role implementing Israeli-Jordanian peace, specifically in matters of security cooperation and water-sharing. Sharon negotiated with the Palestinians at the Wye Plantation Summit in 1998 and was instrumental in achieving the Wye accords. At that summit, the Palestinian delegation sought out Mr. Sharon knowing that he was serious negotiator and an interlocker that they respected.
As far as the Saudi initiative is concerned, the Israeli government did not reject it. On the contrary, we even tried to pursue it actively through the good offices of the U.S. and the Egyptians. Unfortunately, that initiative was greatly watered down in the recent Arab summit in Beirut. No longer do the Arabs talk about normalization, rather they talk about a cold formal peace and they added to the Saudi initiative "baggage" that they knew were unacceptable in the issues of borders, Jerusalem and refugees, thus weakening the original initiative. Israel stands ready for full peace with every Arab state including Saudi Arabia.
Washington, D.C.:
Saudi's Crown Prince Abdullah has said he's received assurances from the U.S. that Arafat will not be harmed. I find this hard to believe in light of the past hour's events, and wonder why the U.S. thinks it still has some control over the situation. How much does Israel's relations with the U.S., and the U.S. wishes, come into play in whether to take down Arafat?
Mark Regev: Our relationship with the U.S. is a cornerstone of our national security doctrine. And of course, we take seriously American requests. In 1991, when Saddam Hussein fired 40 scud missiles at Israel, we did not respond not because we didn't want to but because the Americans asked us not to bring pressure on the coalition that they had built to fight Iraq. In many ways today, our cooperation with the Zinni mission was not based on any allusions we have regarding Arafat but rather out of our strategic partnership with the U.S. and our respect for President Bush.
Bethesda, Md.:
Does Chairman Arafat lack the power over his constituents to stop the terror? Or, is he telling the press one thing and then, quietly behind the scenes encouraging his people to continue the campaign of terror? Which is it because it has to be one of them?
Mark Regev: Chairman Arafat speaks in English about his desire for peace and says very very different things in Arabic to his people. A striking example of this double-talk was on the same day that Arafat published a piece in the NY Times calling for peace and cease fire condemming terrorism. On the same day, he gave a speech in Arabic in the West Bank calling for martyrs -- martyrs, being a code word for suicide bombers, to go and liberate Jerusalum. Israelis are sick and tired of this double-talk and so is the American adminstration. And that is why officials in Washington call on Arafat to take concrete steps because we all know that his words are cheap.
Chicago Ill.:
With all due respect, the current Israeli military action against Ramallah, the P.A., Arafta, etc. doesn't seem likely to produce anything positive. I understand the need to act in response to such atrocities as the Netanya massacre, but how is this particular response productive? Arafat will be neither arrested nor killed, the suicide bombers will not be deterred, so what is being accomplished? Thanks.
Mark Regev: The objective of the operation is to put pressure on the Palestinian leadership to change its policy in supporting terrorism and at the same time to act against the infrastructure of terrorism that exists in the Palestinian terrotories. The last time we went into Ramallah, we destroyed factories making mortars and missiles, we arrested terrorists and the idea being to hurt their capability of inflicting terrorism on us. So our operation now is much the same to pressure Palestinian leadership to change policy and to deal with the infrastructure of terrorism.
Washington, D.C.: What would be the penalty if Israeli soldiers (accidentally, of course) were to kill Arafat? What kind of international response could we expect?
Mark Regev: Once again there has been NO decision made to kill Arafat. An Israeli soldier that does not follow or exceeds his orders will be tried and have to go under disciplinary action. Our military justice is similar to the American system of military justice - both having very high standards of professionalism.
Arlington, Va.:
A question about the Saudi plan: If Israel & Palestinian Authority signed the Saudi plan, but Arafat were unable to stop Hamas from continued attacks, what recourse would Israel have under the plan?
Mark Regev: The plan isn't specific about that. Everyone knows that groups like the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah share the radical Islamic ideology of Bin Laden. They are all on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. They are not interested in any peace agreement with Israel. They are not interested in reconciliation between Jews and Arabs. I saw yesterday the spokesman of Hamas in Beirut speaking proudly of the Passover massacre and justifying the murder of innocents. America and Israel asked the Palestinian leadership to do what other pro-Western Muslim governments have done - to crack down on these bin Laden type terrorists. If Arafat had done what Mussaraf had done Pakistan, what Mubarak in Egypt and what Abdullah had done in Jordan, we wouldn't be in the terrible situation we are in now.
Seattle, Wash.:
Why doesn't Israel start to dismantle some of those settlements, since they are obviously the root cause of this strife?
Mark Regev: I disagree with you. Arab terrorism preceeds Israeli settlement activity. To say that the two are connected is a misnomer. Furthermore, I would stress that in the framework of peace agreements, Israel had removed settlements as Ariel Sharon did in Sinai as part of the peace agreement in Egypt. In 2000, Prime Minister Barak proposed a peace deal which would have removed most of the settlements. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough and the Palestinians, instead of accepting the outreached hand for peace, chose a strategy of terror and violence. Israel has committed itself to discussing the settlement issue in the framework of peace talks. However to unilaterally remove settlements now in the face of terrorism would be a mistake as it would show the terrorist that they are in fact achieving political goals through the murder of innnocent civilians. That would only encourage greater terrorism that is ultimately the antithesis of peace.
Washington, D.C.:
Hi,
I was wondering how you feel about the solution of a singular democratic state where Palestinians and Israelis share and exist as equals with equal rights?
Mark Regev: I think peace will have to be based on two states. One Israel in which the Jewish people will have national self-determination with full and equal rights with all its citizens no matter what religion or ethnicity they are. The other a state of Palestine in which Palestinians achieve national self-determination. Surely both peoples are entitled to that. Israel has historically been open to that compromise. As far back as 1947, we accepted a UN partition proposal that created two states. The Arabs then rejected that proposal saying 'all or nothing' and launched a war against Israel and they lost that war and got 'nothing'. The Israeli proposals in 2000 were a similar attempt for a two state solution and once again it is Palestinians who said all or nothing and got nothing. I hope it won't be long before we have a more moderate, pragmatic and democratic Palestinian leadership that will serve the Palestinians better and be a more serious interlocker in negotiations.
Washington, D.C.:
Is there anybody in line to take Arafat's place if something were to happen to him? Are any of the possible candidates any better for the peace process than Arafat?
Mark Regev: You will understand that if an Israeli official speaks highly of a Palestinian leader, that leader's future will not be politically enhanced. So you will understand if I decline from answering this question.
Baltimore, Md.:
Mr. Regev -- In the wake of 9-11, Benjamin Netanyahu commented that Arabs do not hate the U.S. because of Israel, but that they hate Israel because of the U.S. I wonder if you can expand on what that means, and what connection if any, you see between the terrorists operating against Israel and the terrorists the U.S. is currently fighting around the globe.
Mark Regev: Both Israel and the U.S. face the same sort of problem. Al Quaida, Hizbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are all different manifestations of the same murderous phenomena. These people don't want to live in peace with the west. They want to conquer. They don't want to compromise, they want victory and in this struggle, the U.S. has no better ally than Israel.
San Diego, Calif.:
Given that Iran, Iraq, and Syria have recently pledged their full support to the Palestinian people, at what point does Israel believe those countries will provide military support against Israel. What level of concern does their potential military involvement create for Israel? Has Israel taken into consideration the world-wide ramifications of today's assault, and the potential for war in Israel to lead to world war?
Mark Regev: Israel has stressed and will continue to stress that we will do everything in our power to avoid escalation to war. We don't want our conflict with the Palestinians turning into a larger regional war. That is not to say that we are not concerned about regimes in Iraq, Iran or Syria, regimes that have a radical ideology and have programs of weapons of mass destruction and support terror. We are very concerned about those regimes and we cooperate closely with the U.S. government as to how to deal with those threats.
The U.S. has over the last few weeks been intensely involved in the region both by VP Cheney's visit and the ongoing Zinni mission. We have done our best to facilitate Zinni's mission and to bring about a cease fire. Unfortunately, only one side has to make terror to stop things from working out while to make peace you need two sides. All the American involvement and all the Israeli goodwill will not provide for a cease fire if the Palestinian leadership still believes that its interests are best served by collaborating and cooperating with terrorist.
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