[judemeyer]

March 13 (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon staked out tough positions on Jewish settlements, suggesting in remarks published Tuesday that he will try to hold on to much of the West Bank's heartland.  
 
Sharon spoke after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell failed to win Israel's acceptance of a new Mideast peace plan, and days before the Israeli leader was to meet his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, in the first summit in nearly three years.
 
End of AP report}
 
I knew Sharon had no intention of playing fair.  
 
Which makes a mockery of the claims of some who said that invading Iraq would bring peace to the Middle East.  Yeah, like it brought long-lasting joy and the freedom to form their own government to the Iraqis.
 
The fact that Israel refuses to budge on occupying much of Palestine also puts to rest this oft-repeated lie that Yassir Arafat was given 90% of what he wanted in peace talks.  
 
All Arafat and the Palestinians were offered were three small areas that were non-contiguous, while Israel continued to maintain its settlements and control of all the roads throughout the West Bank.  No Palestinian area was to be connected with another under this Israeli plan.    
 
For anyone to believe this is 90% of what the Palestinians really wanted is utter fantasy.
 
What the Palestinians want is for Israel to dismantle all the settlements and pull out of Palestine, which is the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  THAT is 90%.  The other 10% concerned itself with Eastern half of Jerusalem.
 
But what Israel offers the Palestinians is Israeli control over much of Palestinian land, all the water and the electricity and for Arabs to have minority rights in comparison with the rights of Israeli settlers.  That’s not freedom.  That’s Apartheid.