September 30, 2002
Excerpt from the Jerusalem Post’s Interview with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

Q: How do you respond to the statement by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in his testimony before the US Congress last week that if Israel is attacked during an American led attack on Iraq that it shouldn't respond?

Sharon: First of all, we support the US's moves. We have not interfered at all. We have not tried to speed up an action or to postpone one. We appreciate the importance of this operation. We will of course provide all assistance that we are called upon to provide, just as we did during the war in Afghanistan.

As to the subject itself, I hope that the US's mode of operation with its coalition partners will be such that a potential attack against Israel will be averted. If Iraq attacks Israel, but does not hit population centers or cause casualties, our interest will be to not make it hard on them. If on the other hand Israel is harmed, if we suffer casualties or if non-conventional weapons of mass destruction are used against us, then definitely Israel will take the proper actions to defend its citizens.

Q: Can you imagine a situation wherein which Israel responds with a counter-strike against Iraq even in the face of staunch opposition from the US?

Sharon: I don't think that is the situation that we are facing. I hope that the US, in its understanding of the situation here, will take all possible actions to prevent us from reaching that type of situation. Of course, Israeli citizens cannot be exposed to harm without Israel acting to defend its citizens. I believe that this point is clear in Washington. I made it clear during my conversations in Washington. I also believe that there is an full understanding of the need to act in a manner that will make it impossible to harm Israel.

Q: When Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir acceded to American pressure during the Gulf War and did not respond to Iraqi missile attacks on Israel, he was repaid by the US with a suspension of loan guarantees for aliyah absorption and as a result, lost power in the 1992 elections. Do you think that if in the coming US attack on Iraq, Israel accedes to US pressure and again restrains itself, that the US will respect us for our efforts on its behalf?

Sharon: I think that one of the US's lessons from the Gulf War is that it did not carry out the necessary steps during the war or it did not take enough steps to protect Israel or to prevent attacks on Israel.

Because they learned this lesson, I think that they will carry out the necessary operations to prevent a situation, where Israel will need to take action.

Q:Today we see a linkage between the gathering US attack against Iraq and the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Last week, while the UN Security Council was discussing possible action against Iraq, the Quartet met and discussed the Israel-Palestinian conflict. This week, the Security Council condemned Israel. Clearly, by publicly castigating Israel this week, the US administration is making it clear that it is having trouble denying the linkage between the ongoing war here and the need to operate against Iraq. Maybe Israel could be most helpful to the US by bringing the war to a swift and conclusive end before the US begins its operations in Iraq.

Sharon: I do not believe that there is any connection between the Palestinian problem and the need to deal with Iraq as a terror center and a center for the development of weapons of mass destruction. These are two completely separate issues. There is no connection between the two. What we have here is a cynical attempt by the Arab states and the Palestinians to put pressure on the US to take action against Israel. This is blackmail pure and simple. Arab states and the Palestinians are blackmailing the US but in reality there is no connection between the issues.

My policy has always been not to escalate and to act carefully. I see here a Palestinian intention to escalate the terror attacks before a possible US action in Iraq. Their operating assumption is that as the US operation against Iraq gets closer it will become more difficult for Israel to act against them because Israel will not want to make things difficult for the US administration.

A great deal of thought went into the operations in Ramallah [at Arafat's compound.] Our intention is to prevent the Palestinian Authority, which is involved in terrorism and the terror organizations it works with including the Palestinian security forces, from committing and escalating their attacks ahead of a possible attack against Iraq.

As to your question about ending the war completely, our policy is to prevent an escalation of terrorism and in fact to reduce it. In addition to daily or nightly actions, the policy will be to respond forcefully to any attempt to raise the level of terrorism.