Sharon, Peres clash over Larsen's status
By Herb Keinon
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres clashed yesterday over whether UN Mideast envoy Terje Roed-Larsen should be declared persona non grata and expelled from the country.
But one senior diplomatic source said last night the fact there is a disagreement over the issue all but ensures Larsen will not be shown the door over damning comments he made to the press and diplomatic corps over the weekend.
Larsen has blasted Israel for the destruction wrought by Operation Defensive Shield, saying it was unwarranted by any military objective and created a human catastrophe "horrifying beyond belief."
Larsen's comments dominated yesterday's cabinet meeting, with Sharon saying he instructed his office not to have any contact with Larsen. Sharon is also weighing whether or not he should be declared persona non grata.
Since Peres is abroad, there was no one in the cabinet meeting to support Larsen.
On the other hand, speaker after speaker lambasted him for his remarks.
Industry and Trade Minister Dalia Itzik said Larsen disqualified himself by his one-sided comments. His words, she said, were "not worthy of an objective diplomat."
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein said he read the transcripts of Larsen's statements and found them to be "lies" and "baseless."
"If he was working within the framework of his job," Rubinstein said, "he should have turned to the Israeli government to check these things instead of coming out with these types of accusations."
Rubinstein said he would look into whether Larsen could be declare persona non grata.
Peres, who was in Washington and will travel to Spain today, reacted to the criticism by issuing a statement saying he has known Larsen for more than a decade and that he has demonstrated friendship to Israel while "trying all the time to bridge the wide gaps between Israel and its neighbors." Larsen and Peres worked closely together 10 years ago in forging the Oslo Accords.
Peres said Larsen recognized the mistake he made by his statements on Jenin, and he is convinced Larsen will not make the same mistake again.
According to the statement, Peres rejected the "horrible calls to declare Larsen persona non grata. A procedure like this would do injustice to a man who has made a special contribution toward peace in our region for years."
Larsen should be judged by his actions, commitment, and contribution, Peres said, and not on the basis of statements that Peres termed "grave."
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who was highly critical of Larsen's comments, also came out against declaring him persona non grata, though he said will reconsider the defense establishment's relationship with Larsen.
Larsen's relations with the IDF and the defense establishment have been strained since last year, when he denied the UN had a video of the kidnapping of soldiers from Har Dov - a video that later did emerge.
According to the Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker, Peres has the legal authority to declare diplomatic officials persona non grata. He said, however, that prior to taking this step, there are other means available to the government to demonstrate its displeasure.
Among these steps are to call Larsen in for a formal reprimand, to cut off government contact with him, or to write a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan censuring Larsen and asking for his removal.
Baker said kicking Larsen out of the country, which is what declaring someone persona non grata means, would created complications with the UN, where Larsen enjoys the title of under-secretary-general, and with Norway.
Baker said Larsen violated the UN Charter, which calls upon their diplomats to act in an objective manner. By showing himself to the international press and to the diplomatic corps, Baker said, Larsen went beyond the accepted behavior of an international diplomat.
"If he wants to pass on a message to Israel, that is his job," Baker said. "But there are channels for that. By going to the press and the diplomatic corps he is going against Israel."
Larsen rejected the criticism yesterday, saying it left him "puzzled." Larsen told The Jerusalem Post that when he characterized the situation in Jenin as "horrific beyond belief," he was referring to the humanitarian situation in the camp as he saw it during his visit, and stressed he never accused Israel of a "massacre."
"I said the same things as [the American and Russian envoys] who toured the camp," Larsen said. "For that, Israel can make the entire diplomatic corps personas non grata."
Larsen also rejected the criticism leveled at him by Ben-Eliezer, who said Larsen never condemned terrorist attacks against Israelis. "A variety of characters are saying I never criticized suicide attacks... but that is simply not true. Either I or the secretary-general have always condemned these attack in the strongest terms," he said.
An aide to Larsen said he has repeatedly pressured Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to take actions against those who are behind such attacks and to outlaw terrorist organizations.
In addition to taking Larsen to task at the cabinet meeting, Sharon also reacted angrily to a suggestion by Minister-without-Portfolio Ra'anan Cohen that the cabinet should hold a discussion on evacuating some of the isolated settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Banging his fist on the table, Sharon said, "There will be no discussion on uprooting settlements until November 2003." Even after this date, the scheduled election date, he said, "I am not sure there will be a discussion on this."
Regarding the decision to accept a UN fact-finding committee to investigate the battle that took place in Jenin, Sharon said he agreed to the suggestion because it was clear the US would not veto such a resolution in the Security Council , and that this option was better than the British proposal - to dispatch an international fact-finding committee.
Ben-Eliezer told the cabinet Israel need not worry about the fact-finding committee, because it "has nothing to hide." He said he appointed his deputy director-general, Moshe Kohanovsky, to coordinate Israel's position.
Kohanvosky was the head of the committee that prepared Israel's case for the Mitchell Committee investigating the causes of the intifada in early 2001.
Ben-Eliezer said Israel has paid a public relations price for the just concluded military operation, and an impression was created that Israel used disproportional force.
"This stems from erroneous reporting and lies spread by the Palestinians," Ben-Eliezer said. "I know the IDF operated in the most moral and professional matter possible. At the same time, the information campaign is no less important, and all the means necessary must be dedicated to this as well."
In a related development, the Foreign Ministry announced yesterday it is closing the media center it set up at the end of March when Operation Defensive Shield started. One official said the closing of the center sends a message that the operation is over. He said many of the more than 1,100 journalists who arrived over the last month to cover the war have left or are in the process of leaving.
By Herb Keinon
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres clashed yesterday over whether UN Mideast envoy Terje Roed-Larsen should be declared persona non grata and expelled from the country.
But one senior diplomatic source said last night the fact there is a disagreement over the issue all but ensures Larsen will not be shown the door over damning comments he made to the press and diplomatic corps over the weekend.
Larsen has blasted Israel for the destruction wrought by Operation Defensive Shield, saying it was unwarranted by any military objective and created a human catastrophe "horrifying beyond belief."
Larsen's comments dominated yesterday's cabinet meeting, with Sharon saying he instructed his office not to have any contact with Larsen. Sharon is also weighing whether or not he should be declared persona non grata.
Since Peres is abroad, there was no one in the cabinet meeting to support Larsen.
On the other hand, speaker after speaker lambasted him for his remarks.
Industry and Trade Minister Dalia Itzik said Larsen disqualified himself by his one-sided comments. His words, she said, were "not worthy of an objective diplomat."
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein said he read the transcripts of Larsen's statements and found them to be "lies" and "baseless."
"If he was working within the framework of his job," Rubinstein said, "he should have turned to the Israeli government to check these things instead of coming out with these types of accusations."
Rubinstein said he would look into whether Larsen could be declare persona non grata.
Peres, who was in Washington and will travel to Spain today, reacted to the criticism by issuing a statement saying he has known Larsen for more than a decade and that he has demonstrated friendship to Israel while "trying all the time to bridge the wide gaps between Israel and its neighbors." Larsen and Peres worked closely together 10 years ago in forging the Oslo Accords.
Peres said Larsen recognized the mistake he made by his statements on Jenin, and he is convinced Larsen will not make the same mistake again.
According to the statement, Peres rejected the "horrible calls to declare Larsen persona non grata. A procedure like this would do injustice to a man who has made a special contribution toward peace in our region for years."
Larsen should be judged by his actions, commitment, and contribution, Peres said, and not on the basis of statements that Peres termed "grave."
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who was highly critical of Larsen's comments, also came out against declaring him persona non grata, though he said will reconsider the defense establishment's relationship with Larsen.
Larsen's relations with the IDF and the defense establishment have been strained since last year, when he denied the UN had a video of the kidnapping of soldiers from Har Dov - a video that later did emerge.
According to the Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker, Peres has the legal authority to declare diplomatic officials persona non grata. He said, however, that prior to taking this step, there are other means available to the government to demonstrate its displeasure.
Among these steps are to call Larsen in for a formal reprimand, to cut off government contact with him, or to write a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan censuring Larsen and asking for his removal.
Baker said kicking Larsen out of the country, which is what declaring someone persona non grata means, would created complications with the UN, where Larsen enjoys the title of under-secretary-general, and with Norway.
Baker said Larsen violated the UN Charter, which calls upon their diplomats to act in an objective manner. By showing himself to the international press and to the diplomatic corps, Baker said, Larsen went beyond the accepted behavior of an international diplomat.
"If he wants to pass on a message to Israel, that is his job," Baker said. "But there are channels for that. By going to the press and the diplomatic corps he is going against Israel."
Larsen rejected the criticism yesterday, saying it left him "puzzled." Larsen told The Jerusalem Post that when he characterized the situation in Jenin as "horrific beyond belief," he was referring to the humanitarian situation in the camp as he saw it during his visit, and stressed he never accused Israel of a "massacre."
"I said the same things as [the American and Russian envoys] who toured the camp," Larsen said. "For that, Israel can make the entire diplomatic corps personas non grata."
Larsen also rejected the criticism leveled at him by Ben-Eliezer, who said Larsen never condemned terrorist attacks against Israelis. "A variety of characters are saying I never criticized suicide attacks... but that is simply not true. Either I or the secretary-general have always condemned these attack in the strongest terms," he said.
An aide to Larsen said he has repeatedly pressured Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to take actions against those who are behind such attacks and to outlaw terrorist organizations.
In addition to taking Larsen to task at the cabinet meeting, Sharon also reacted angrily to a suggestion by Minister-without-Portfolio Ra'anan Cohen that the cabinet should hold a discussion on evacuating some of the isolated settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Banging his fist on the table, Sharon said, "There will be no discussion on uprooting settlements until November 2003." Even after this date, the scheduled election date, he said, "I am not sure there will be a discussion on this."
Regarding the decision to accept a UN fact-finding committee to investigate the battle that took place in Jenin, Sharon said he agreed to the suggestion because it was clear the US would not veto such a resolution in the Security Council , and that this option was better than the British proposal - to dispatch an international fact-finding committee.
Ben-Eliezer told the cabinet Israel need not worry about the fact-finding committee, because it "has nothing to hide." He said he appointed his deputy director-general, Moshe Kohanovsky, to coordinate Israel's position.
Kohanvosky was the head of the committee that prepared Israel's case for the Mitchell Committee investigating the causes of the intifada in early 2001.
Ben-Eliezer said Israel has paid a public relations price for the just concluded military operation, and an impression was created that Israel used disproportional force.
"This stems from erroneous reporting and lies spread by the Palestinians," Ben-Eliezer said. "I know the IDF operated in the most moral and professional matter possible. At the same time, the information campaign is no less important, and all the means necessary must be dedicated to this as well."
In a related development, the Foreign Ministry announced yesterday it is closing the media center it set up at the end of March when Operation Defensive Shield started. One official said the closing of the center sends a message that the operation is over. He said many of the more than 1,100 journalists who arrived over the last month to cover the war have left or are in the process of leaving.
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