Εκεχειρία μεταξύ Ισραήλ και παλαιστινίων (λέμε τώρα)
Truce on cards at Mid-East summit
Israel has confirmed it will declare a mutual truce with the Palestinians when PM Ariel Sharon meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt shortly.
Raanan Gissin, a top Sharon aide, said the two sides would issue separate declarations but "what is going to be announced is, of course, a ceasefire". Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat earlier spoke of a mutual truce. The BBC's Heba Saleh in Egypt says Mr Abbas so far seems to have secured an informal truce by Palestinian factions. But the militants' further co-operation depends on what sort of deal Israel offers, she says.
When Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, it will be the highest-level talks between the two sides since the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, began in 2000. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is hosting the three-hour summit and Jordan's King Abdullah will also attend.
'End to the intifada'
The Palestinians, Mr Gissin told Reuters news agency, would effectively announce the "cessation of the... intifada". For its part, Israel would declare it would "refrain from any military action providing there would be peace and quiet on the ground", said Mr Gissin, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister.
A package of measures to ease restrictions on the Palestinians would also be revealed, he said. Saeb Erekat, also speaking to Reuters, said there would be a "mutual declaration of cessation of violence against each other".
He anticipated the establishment of joint committees to oversee the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Zahar suggested the organisation would take no decision before hearing from Mr Abbas on the outcome of the summit.
"We agreed before with Mahmoud Abbas that if he succeeds to achieve our national goals, he should come back to the Palestinian factions to discuss the issue, and after that we will decide our stand," he said.
New situation
BBC world affairs correspondent Paul Welsh notes that two main factors are bolstering hopes that this summit will yield real results. Ariel Sharon had refused to meet Yasser Arafat, saying he was an obstacle to peace, but since his death and the election of Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority, the Israelis believe they have a partner they can do business with.
The other big difference, our correspondent says, is that the Americans are properly involved again, now the US election is behind them and Arafat is gone. Former US mediator George Mitchell told the BBC there was also a widespread recognition that neither side could get what they wanted through conflict. But he urged the US to press ahead with the roadmap and try to create forward movement to break down the mistrust felt by both sides, as the chance for peace was very limited.
"When there is an opportunity it must be seized, these are not permanently open windows - in the Middle East they close very rapidly," he said in an interview for BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 245353.stm
Γιέα, ράιτ. Και σε ένα μήνα πάλι, ΧΤΣΑΚ, επίθεση. Ή μήπως εισβολή;
Originally Posted by Kuolema
