USA: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON ADDRESSES JEWISH INTEREST GROUPS DURING WASHINGTON VISIT.

Record ID: 400764

  • Title: USA: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON ADDRESSES JEWISH INTEREST GROUPS DURING WASHINGTON VISIT.
  • Date: 20th March 2001
  • Summary: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (MARCH 19, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV/PAN: WIDE OF AIPAC DINNER 0.07 2. MV: SOUNDBITE (English) SHARON SAYING "I bring you greetings from Jerusalem, the Eternal capital of the Jewish people for the past 3000 years and of the State of Israel for the past 52 years and forever." 0.37 3. GV: APPLAUSE FROM
  • Embargoed: 4th April 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA89Y7DVJSU2EAKNLLZS01YV7B2
  • Story Text: Israel's new Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appealed to
    the world on Monday to turn up the pressure on Palestinians to
    end violence in the Middle East, again asserting peace is
    possible but not until the bloodshed ends.

    And he was firm in his determination that Jerusalem would
    forever remain under the sovereignty of Israel - the capital
    of the Jewish people.

    There were skirmishes between protesters and Sharon
    supporters outside the hotel where he was speaking at a
    dinner.



    Ariel Sharon on Monday (March 20, 2001) addressed
    Washington politicians and Jewish interest groups at the
    annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC )
    conference during his first visit to the United States as
    Israeli Prime Minister.

    In his opening statements he referred to Jerusalem as the
    "Eternal Capital " of Israel and characterised the Temple
    Mount as "the holiest site to the Jewish people" - words that
    are likely to further alienate him from the Palestinians and
    their sympathisers.

    The Mount is part of disputed territory captured by Israel
    during the 1967 war. It was Sharon's controversial appearance
    there in September that sparked more than six months of bloody
    violence resulting in hundreds of deaths.

    Sharon told his American hosts he wanted to reinforce the
    "special relationship" Israel had with the United States.

    He's due to meet President George W. Bush on Tuesday
    (March 20).

    He outlined his plan for scaled down peacemaking, saying
    that a peace agreement with the Palestinians was possible,
    but not until the violence of the past six months ceased.

    Israel, he said, would honour existing agreements ratified
    by the Knesset. However in an apparent reference to the July
    talks at Camp David between the then U.S. President Bill
    Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minsister Ehud Barak and
    Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, he said Israel
    "would not be bound by the record of past negotitions that
    have failed."
    He said that he had already made concerted efforts to
    give economic aid to the Palestinian people and despite a
    crackdown on terrorism, he drew a clear distinction between
    the activities of terrorists and ordinary citizens.

    Outside the venue for Sharon's speech, protesters chanted
    anti-Israeli slogans while on the other side of the road
    Sharon supporters celebrated his visit to the United States.

    There was the odd skirmish as angry Palestinians
    confronted the Jewish group.




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