ARABS-ISRAEL - Sept. 25 - Peres On Globalisation.

A report in the FT says FM Peres differs from PM Sharon "by putting Israel's conflict with the Palestinians in the context of economic development and globalisation". In an interview in his Tel Aviv office, Peres says: "The problem is not Arafat. It is not a duel between two leaders. It is about the relationship between two peoples. Mr Arafat represents the Palestinians. Arabs feel discriminated against because their economy is basically agricultural and feudalistic. The sense of equality will come when they have a modern economy". European unity, he adds, was more the product of economic convergence than politics. (It is a familiar theme for Peres, whose 1993 book The New Middle East, proposed pan-regional economic development. Peres was criticised then by Arab leaders, who said it was the intention of Israel to control the Arab economy). But since the events of Sept. 11, Peres' conviction that globalisation will change the rules of the region's politics has only been strengthened. He says countries cannot now think just in terms of national dangers, they have to take account of global threats. He expects a distinction to be drawn between those countries supporting terrorism and those combating it, in which he includes Israel. He says Arafat "has to make a choice. Maybe before now, he thought he could combine the two but he will learn that there is no exception to the rule".