Netanyahu says no way to Palestine

“An Israeli government will never take the risk of allowing a Palestinian state to attack Israel,” Netanyahu told Bild Am Sonntag, raising the prospect of a hostile alliance between the Palestinians and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

“An independent Palestinian state could control the airspace above our cities and airports. We will never accept that,” he added.

Peacemaking between Israelis and Palestinians has been stalled for months because of differences over security issues and building new Jewish settlements in Palestinian-ruled areas. Netanyahu, who visits Bonn next Thursday, said he hoped German Chancellor Helmut Kohl could help revive the peace talks and intercede to revive relations with the United States.

Meanwhile, an official spokesman said in Jerusalem today that Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy will travel to Washington on Saturday with a government mandate to discuss with PLO negotiators, a `time-out’ on Jewish settlement activities.

Asked if Levy was authorised to discuss an Israeli freeze in settlement building, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aviv Shir-On said, “He can conduct negotiations on all issues on the agenda.” He stressed, however, that “decisions are made by the Israeli government.”

Palestinian officials said they believed Levy had not been authorised to make the necessary decisions to move the peace process forward in talks scheduled for Monday in Washington. Levy said his government had given him a mandate after six hours of consultations yesterday to negotiate with PLO official Mahmoud Abbas.

Yasser Arafat said he doubted Levy had the mandate to make decisions on implementing 34 outstanding interim issues, foremost being further redeployments from the West Bank and the halting of settlement activities. “The meeting in Washington will be simply for the sake of meeting. No more, no less. It will be a waste of time,” Arafat said yesterday.

China supports `just’ cause of PalestiniansBEIJING: China on Sunday said it would “firmly support the just cause” of the Palestinians and the Middle-East peace process. “The Chinese government and people will, as always firmly and consistently support the Palestinian people in their just cause and also support the Middle-East peace process,” Chinese premier Li Peng said in a message to a conference marking the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people, which opens in New York tomorrow. “China will continue to render assistance to the economic reconstruction in the Palestinian autonomous area,” Peng added. “Thanks to the powerful backing of the international community and the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, the peace talks have made important progress and the Palestinian people have finally realised self-rule in their own territory,” he said. The Hebron agreement signed early this year, he said was another step forward towards fully restoring the legitimate national rights of the Palestinians.