A rchive Date
[ 11-05-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Palestine ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/05/10/84335-ap.html
Palestinians say Israel must take immediate steps on Mideast peace plans
Sat, May 10, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel must take immediate steps to implement a U.S.-backed peace plan, including halting its policy of targeting militants in attacks, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in the region to promote the peace plan.
The Palestinian demands - and Israel's counter-demands and hesitancy to officially accept the three-phase plan - highlight the difficulties Powell faces in trying to persuade the warring parties to implement the plan, which was formulated jointly by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.
Powell met Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom upon arriving in Jerusalem on Saturday evening at the start of his two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. "There is enough agreement on the road map that we can get started," he said.
Powell said Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas "is beginning to make the right statements with respect to terror and violence" and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, too, had shown signs of co-operation.
On Sunday, Powell plans to meet separately with Sharon and Abbas. Initially, Powell was to meet Abbas in Ramallah - the main Palestinian headquarters on the West Bank of the Jordan River - but the venue was changed to nearby Jericho by U.S. and Palestinian officials.
The officials said that was done to avoid expected protests by members of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, who oppose Powell's decision to meet only with Abbas. Powell will not meet with Arafat in line with President George W. Bush's policy to sideline the Palestinian leader.
Most foreign diplomats meet Palestinian government officials in Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, although only three buildings are left from a sprawling block-sized compound because of Israeli attacks.
The first phase of the road map calls for both sides to take simultaneous steps to bring an end to 31 months of fighting and to rebuild trust.
Under the plan, Palestinians must rein in militants and combat terrorism, while Israel must remove illegal Jewish settlement outposts and freeze construction in more established Israeli communities on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
However, Israel has asked for 15 changes in the plan and has posed conditions, including that Palestinians halt all violence, before it takes any steps to implement the plan.
Palestinian legislature Speaker Ahmed Qureia said the Palestinians already implemented the first part of the road map by naming a prime minister and instituting reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
Now, Qureia said, it is time for Israel to accept the road map and take some steps, including releasing prisoners, ending its policy of targeting and killing Palestinian militants and ceasing activity in the Jewish settlements. "Such policies will never help in implementing the road map or bringing peace, stability and security to the area." Qureia said.
Israel will ease travel restrictions and grant more work permits to Palestinians interested in working in Israel once it is clear the Palestinians are combatting "terrorism," Shalom told Israeli television late Friday. But Israel will not stop targetting militants or remove its presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until it becomes clear Abbas is working to end the violence, he said.
On Saturday, Israeli troops blew up the house of a suspected Hamas militant near the town Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Three neighbouring houses also were destroyed in the blast. Shalom said he would consider Powell's trip a success if he persuades the Palestinians to fight the "terrorist infrastructure."
"Our message is that we want to move onto a new path of peace. There aren't many who say there are very good chances that we will in the end reach a final deal, but it is possible to begin the process," Shalom said.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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