WEYMOUTH: What is your assessment of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, also known as Abu Ala?
Sharon: Abu Ala is a politician, and he’s clever. I believe he will be able to maneuver better than former prime minister Abu Mazen. The latter had to leave his post for two reasons: Arafat undermined him. And instead of acting against the terrorist organizations, he tried to make deals with them.
Will Abu Ala act differently?
According to what he says, the answer is no, but here, declarations should not be taken seriously. Only performance counts. I would like very much to move the process forward. It should be implemented in three stages. The first should be a full cessation of terror. Then Israel will recognize a Palestinian state… without final borders. If relations develop, the third stage will be where final borders are decided upon. One thing that is very important is that all the security forces, many of which are involved in terror, come under the full control of the prime minister and that Yasir Arafat be removed from any position of influence.
Have you talked to Abu Ala since he became prime minister?
No, but we have been in contact at a lower level.
Do you plan to meet him soon?
I don’t have any problem meeting him. I’ve known him for many years.
Israelis appear to want a way out of the conflict. Can you give them hope?
I want to solve the problem. In order to take hard decisions, you must have a wide consensus. The left cannot have that. I can do that.
Why don’t you leave the settlement of Nezarim in Gaza as a gesture of your intentions?
You ask about hope. I also want to see hope. But my hope is that the bloodshed will stop–that Jews will be able to live a normal life in their homeland. There are others who think that making concessions creates hope.
Is leaving Nezarim one of the painful concessions you’ve spoken about?
I’ve said I’m going to make painful compromises. I don’t know if this will be one of them.
Suppose Abu Ala reaches a ceasefire with the extremist groups and then asks Israel to stop assassinating extremist leaders?
If terror stops, there is no reason for Israel to make targeted interceptions.
Why don’t you dismantle the illegal outposts?
We have done so but [can’t complete this] in a short time.
The U.S. government says that for every one that goes down, another one goes up.
We still have quite a number of them; some were built many years ago under illegal procedures. We gave instructions to try to do [something about them] as soon as possible.
Are you willing to stop building the fence which the U.S. says goes into Palestinian territory and not along the ‘67 border?
It is a means to stop terrorist infiltration into the center of Israel–to make it harder to send suicide bombers into Israel. But this fence is not a political fence. [Its location] doesn’t represent the border between us and the Palestinians.
Why do you have to build it so far in Palestinian areas?
I am ready for the United States to reduce the loan guarantees it makes to Israel by the amount it estimates [Israel] has spent beyond the Green Line.
