Prime Minister Ariel Sharon issued a plea yesterday to "responsible and moderate" Arab leaders to accept an invitation to meet with him to discuss a framework for Middle East peace. Sharon said the US must serve as the coordinator of such an effort, and he would "go anywhere, without preconditions from any side, to talk about peace." His appeal came in a statement to the Knesset, the first since Operation Defensive Shield was launched. Sharon said the recent wave of suicide bombings had been delivered by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat - the person who "promised in a series of agreements" to abandon terror and to fight against it. "He has broken all of his promises," Sharon said.
The Palestinians will probably take this as a sign of weakness, but the words had to be spoken eventually. If anything positive looks like it's going to come, Hamas will try to spike it. |