Sharon snubs quartet's ME peace roadmap
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sunday that European members of a "quartet" of foreign mediators were biased against Israel and would stall peace efforts unless they backed the removal of Yasser Arafat.
In a meeting with foreign reporters, Sharon singled out the European Union for not taking a balanced view of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and for failing to understand that "to move things forward, (Palestinian President) Arafat should be removed from any influential position."
The quartet -- the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia -- has yet to release its final "road map" to ending more than two years of Middle East violence.
But Sharon's remarks could undermine its future effectiveness. Palestinians said the Israeli leader's comments showed he had no real plans to settle the conflict.
"We see eye-to-eye with the United States and not always with the other members," Sharon said regarding the blueprint for peace. The United States has called on Palestinians to replace Arafat as their leader in elections and carry out reforms.
"We don't underestimate Europe," Sharon said. "I would like to see very much more involvement on the European side in what's happening here, but I have one condition...your attitude toward Israel and the Arabs and Palestinians should be balanced."
Sharon's remarks clarified an interview with the US magazine Newsweek in which he was quoted as saying the quartet's "road map" to peace should not be taken seriously.
Sharon faces a general election on January 28 and tough talk against the Palestinians is proving popular among voters rattled by Palestinian suicide bombings and other attacks in a 27-month uprising for an independent state.
In the latest violence, Israelis burying a Jewish settler killed by Palestinian militants went on the rampage in the West Bank city of Hebron, smashing the windows of Palestinian homes and setting cars alight. Several people were injured.
In the interview with Newsweek, Sharon said: "Oh, the quartet is nothing! Don't take it seriously! There is (another) plan that will work."
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