Archive for January, 2010

‘India, Israel can keep watchful eye on Islam’

Israel and India can keep a mutual, watchful eye on “fanatic Islam (?)”, the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Yosef Lapid, told The Hindu during the course of an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

Mr. Lapid, leader of the Shinui (Change) party, who is also the country’s Justice Minister, confirmed that the United States was part of the larger picture when India and Israel discussed joint collaboration on the key issue of counter-terrorism.

“Some of the discussions were aimed at this,” he said to a specific question on trilateral anti-terrorist cooperation. Mr. Lapid was one of three Ministers who accompanied the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, during his just-concluded visit.

Making it clear that Israel saw terrorism as a global problem, Mr. Lapid said: “We are here in the week two years from September 11. We are here on a day when two terrible acts of terrorism were committed in Israel. There hardly passes a day without some act of terrorism in India.”

On the possibilities of replicating a South East Asia Treaty Organisation-type arrangement, Mr. Lapid said no formal arrangement was contemplated. “What is happening is that the Americans are very much favouring our mutual cooperation…”

Mr. Lapid, who was here two years ago as part of a parliamentary delegation, said previous Indian hesitation and reservation in dealing with the Israelis was a thing of the past. “Your Government was so friendly and outgoing. Even in security measures taken… because of warnings that we may be exposed to acts of terrorism.”

“I think our visit can be described as a breakthrough… your Government out of consideration of your ties with the Arab world was very moderate in proclaiming ties with Israel more openly. It seems as if we have reached a critical mass, where there is no sense in hiding any more that we are on (a) friendly path.”

Mr. Lapid conceded that while the Palestinians had accepted the American-backed road map towards a Palestinian state completely, Israel had made its acceptance conditional.

Accusing the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, of undermining the peace process, Mr. Lapid did not agree with the contention that the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, had undermined the position of the former Palestinian Prime Minister, Abu Mazen.

“Mr. Sharon has risked his whole political career by signing up to the road map against the Right wing of his own party… saying that Mr. Sharon gave Abu Mazen nothing is part of the anti-Israeli viewpoint. The beginning of everything is cessation of terrorist activity.”

On the Israeli Parliament’s “painful” decision to bar Palestinians from occupied territories becoming citizens or holding resident permits if they married Israeli citizens, Mr. Lapid was on the defensive. “This is one of those things where there is a delicate balance…”

Is this a case of being guilty by association? “It is not being guilty by association. Some people who genuinely intended to marry may suffer as a result of this decision… every country in the world is trying to avoid infiltration by all kinds of means… border police are preventing illegal immigrants from entering our country…”If the Yugoslavia-born Mr. Lapid were Prime Minister, would he do anything different from Mr. Sharon? “Mr. Sharon’s right wing is much to the right of our party. We are not the moderate party of the Government.”

Does he support the idea of a fence/wall being constructed by the Israelis through Palestinian territories? “We support the idea of the wall as a defensive measure. We don’t think the wall should be used as a final borderline between Palestine and Israel.”

“It’s a very interesting phenomenon that the wall is opposed by the extreme Left and Right in our country; supported by the moderate Left and Right. The moderates support the wall because they believe it will prevent infiltration.”

Will walls and fences bring greater security to the people of Israel? Mr. Lapid: “Every country has a border and every country has the right to defend its border.”Many analysts believe that the Sharon Government is altering the ground situation in such a way that a final settlement will be on Israeli terms.

His response? “I think we have to give up a great many settlements which are close to the Israeli border, which we will not give up.”

“But a majority of settlements and a majority of territory we will give up if and when we reach an agreement with the Palestinians on the creation of a Palestinian state,” he claimed.