IRELAND: The Palestinian delegate-general to Ireland, Mr Ali Halimeh, has urged European countries to be more decisive when dealing with the Middle East conflict.
"We need the international community to be more decisive, especially Europe," he told a meeting of the Association of European Journalists in Dublin yesterday. They were not asking Europe to take sides. "We want Europe to have more political influence."
It was not sufficient to spend money building infrastructure which was then destroyed by Israel. "No European country has taken a strong and decisive position, telling the US 'enough is enough'."
However, he commended the former minister for foreign affairs, now Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, who "stood firm on more than one occasion during the [Irish] EU presidency to tell Colin Powell: 'You are wrong'."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, had taken a similar stance with President Bush, urging a US change of position on the conflict.
However, Mr Halimeh said he did not expect any major changes in US policy following the re-election of Mr Bush. On his latest visit to the region, Mr Powell had said "nothing new".
Mr Halimeh said the "road map" had to be implemented simultaneously: the Palestinian security reforms could not be made while Israel was inside its territory. The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, was "not prepared to change".
"I don't think any political achievements are going to be made with Sharon."
The reason was that "ideologically this man is not prepared to establish a full sovereign state for the Palestinians".
Mr Sharon's plan to disengage from Gaza was "a ploy". Europe said it had to be part of the road map; Israel said it was not. "We don't know whom to believe."
Nevertheless, he added: "We are very much prepared to engage the Israelis."
In an address on the political situation in the Middle East after the death of Yasser Arafat, Mr Halimeh said he had worked for over 30 years with the PLO chairman, who was like a father to him. Describing him as "a very charming person", he continued: "We lost a historical leader, and it's very difficult to replace somebody like Arafat."