Peres answers ArabYnet readers

TEL AVIV - Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres answered questions submitted by ArabYnet readers Sunday, ahead of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit.

A Kuwaiti reader asked Peres why his Labor Party, which claims to support peace, agreed to join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government when Sharon has declared he will not make concessions on Jerusalem, dismantle settlements or withdraw to the 1967 borders.

Peres said part of the problem can be found in Israel's weak political system, which demands that Israel's political parties make concessions to be part of the government.

"We have 12 political parties and a coalition must be formed for every thing," Peres said.

Peres also said that Sharon has positions that could lead to a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

'Sharon agreed to two states'

"Sharon agreed to two states. This was the first time someone in the Likud agreed to a Palestinian state, agreed to get out of Gaza and from the northern part of the West Bank and to dismantle settlements," Peres said. "This never happened before in the Likud. This is a very significant change - and we would be making a mistake to ignore it.

"If the disengagement from Gaza and the dismantling of settlements succeeds, I believe it will open a door to more.”

A reader from Germany asked Peres if he thought Prime Minister Sharon was prepared to open peace negotiations with Syria and Lebanon if given the opportunity.

'There is no shame in peace'

"I support opening negotiations with the Syrians, but the Syrians must take into account three things: peace negotiations cannot be held in shame. If the Syrians want negotiations, they need to meet us and we need to meet them out in the open and to hold negotiations for peace.

"Peace is not something to be ashamed of. Just as we met Palestinian leaders, Egyptian leaders and Jordanian leaders.

"Second, Syria must root out the terror centers. The Hamas headquarters sits in Syria.

"Third, they must break away from Hizbullah. Hizbullah is a state within a state. Hizbullah all the time threatens Israel and is destroying Lebanon. I agree to talks without preconditions, but without preconditions means without terror organizations, without Hizbullah and without shame - then the necessary conditions will be created for negotiations."

Israel and Iraq can have normal relations

A reader from Michigan asked Peres if he thought the U.S. invasion of Iraq had created positive developments and whether Iraq and Israel could have normal relations.

"We have to let go of the past and preconceived notions," Peres said. "There is no reason for Israel and the new Iraq not to have peaceful relations.

"I have spoken with many of Iraq's leaders. I think that this is their aspiration too. The Iraqi nation is an intelligent one. It is a rich land. Saddam Hussein harmed the Iraqi people the country's future. I definitely see peaceful relations between Iraq and Israel in the future, just like those between Israel and Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinians."

I did not commit a massacre in Kana

A reader from Palestine asked whether Peres had any regrets about the 1996 Grapes of Wrath operation when Israel Defense Forces shelling hit the refugee camp of Kana in southern Lebanon. Peres was prime minister at the time.

“I did not commit a massacre in Kana. For seven days towns on Israel's northern border were barraged by mortar shells (from Lebanon). Regretfully, we answered with fire from our artillery. Three or four shells went off course, harming from people in Kana in a location where we didn't even know they were.

"The United States, which investigated the incident, cleared Israel of any responsibility. I certainly would never give an order that was likely to harm even one innocent person."