Q. Shalom Professor Porat. Yasser Arafat sent a letter today to Prime Minister Peres announcing the changes in the Palestinian covenant. Does this letter convince you that the covenant has been changed?
A. No, he has only repeated the decision of the PNC. They have not defined which clauses will be changed, but have only made a general statement that they will change clauses which contradict the recognition of Israel's right to exist.
Q. Isn't this only a matter of semantics? For he is explicitly stating that he will make the changes.
A. When he makes the changes, we will see. We will see what replaces the present clauses. Why are we in such a hurry to give him credit?
Q. We should give him credit because it is said that until now, Arafat has not made such a statement.
A. In an exchange of letters [with Yitzhak Rabin], Arafat said that he will change the covenant. Today he said that anything that contradicts the mutual recognition expressed in that exchange of letters, is now null and void. What has he changed? Does anyone know what clauses are changed? There is nothing new in this development. Clause 19, which says explicitly that the establishment of the State of Israel is null and void, I'm sure they will change first. But what about the clause which denies any connection between the Jewish People and the Land of Israel? What about the many clauses pertaining to the armed struggle? What about the clause that the Palestinians are the only rightful owners of the land? What about the clause in which the PLO claims the right to represent the Arab citizens of Israel? Do we agree with this? Does this constitute a "contradiction"? Does anyone know? No. The questions remain open, yet they have received credit [for the changes] enabling the continuation of the negotiations.
Q. I wish to point out to the listeners that you almost won a seat in the Knesset as a member of Meretz.
A. True, however, after the Oslo accords, I would not represent a party which supports the Oslo accords as policy. Meretz is a separate issue. What I have done is to join the campaign whose goal it is to prevent Shimon Peres from being elected Prime Minister. He has a monopoly on the negotiations. He has made a practice of presenting an already finished product, consulting only those whom he wants, and then no one can argue with him. I think that if he was able to accept the "changing" of the Palestinian charter as "the most important event in the last 100 years," then he should not be the one to conduct the negotiations.
Q. Are you against the way in which he is conducting the negotiations, or against the entire concept?
A. I'm against the entire Oslo process. Specifically, what angered me and pushed me into this "battle" are the two acts of deception - now, with the PLO charter, and the one in December 1995.
Q. What happened in December 1995?
A. The question of the agreement between Hamas and the PLO. I know for a fact that there was such an agreement; it was presented at a press conference. But [the government] tried to pass it off as something insignificant.
Q. I can understand that you want to present to the public the dangers of the current process, but why is it that you went one step further and called upon the public to vote for Netanyahu?
A. It's obvious, for there are only two choices. Since I'm against Peres, I have to vote for Netanyahu, and we'll see how he does. By the way, for Knesset I'm voting for Meretz, so as to help bring about a situation where the Prime Minister will be of one party, and the Knesset will pull him in the other direction, thereby avoiding a situation where the extremists of either side will be able to have the final say.
Q. Tonight the negotiations on the permanent status with the PLO begin. What demands do you recommend that the Israeli team insist upon?
A. First of all, that the PLO carries out its obligation to combat Hamas terror. In addition, we must state clearly that, although we are willing to compromise on territory, even in Jerusalem, we will not accept any of the 1948 refugees. Because if you listen closely to what they are demanding, this is their main demand: "the right of return of Arab refugees to their homes and to their land." I think that it will be hard to come to a solution on this issue, and I hope that there will not be any compromise on our part, because I believe that most of the Israeli public does not want a return of Arab refugees - not even under the heading of "reunification of families" and the like.
Q. Professor Porat, thank you very much.