Posted on 03/10/2002 4:41:41 AM PST by knighthawk
A spokesperson for the Dutch Foreign Ministry said that representatives from the United States and the European Union in Tel Aviv may present Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a joint statement calling for a halt to military actions against the Palestinians as early as Sunday morning.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that the U.S. and EU are "preparing a diplomatic initiative that will call on Sharon to implement an immediate cease-fire, as well as request that both sides return to the negotiating table."
Sharon said Friday that he was dropping his insistence on a week of calm before the two sides begin implementing a truce.
Sharon said that negotiations for a cease-fire will be held while the conflict continues. "Negotiations to stop the shooting will be held under fire," Sharon told Channel Two Television.
Sharon also informed U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell of his decision during a phone conversation earlier in the day. Following the phone call, Sharon said that, "The ball is in the Palestinian's court, and in the coming days we will see if Arafat is willing to take actions for peace."
The decision follows a new U.S. intiative which proposes that the two sides begin to implement the Tenet plan immediately, without waiting for a drop in the violence, with the goal of then moving on to the Mitchell Report's plan for resuming negotiations.
Sharon's statement was met with skepticism from the Palestinian side. "Words are not enough. Sharon and his government have to stop their continuous massacres against Palestinian civilians, cities villages and refugee camps," said Nabil Abu Rudieneh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. "There is no military solution."
Bush sends envoy back to Mideast President George W. Bush dispatched his Middle East envoy, Anthony Zinni, back to the region Thursday in hopes of halting widening violence. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said that Israel would continue to carry out strikes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip while Zinni was in the region.
Bush, under pressure from Arab leaders for a stronger U.S. role in the Middle East, said Zinni would go back to the region next week. He said Zinni's prospects for progress are unclear.
When announcing the new effort, Bush said "there are no assurances" it would lead to a resumption of peace talks. "That's not going to prevent our country from trying," Bush told reporters at the White House Rose Garden, with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary Powell at his side. "I'm deeply concerned about the tragic loss of life and the escalating violence," Bush said.
Under the new American initiative, Zinni would stay in the region to monitor execution of the PA's commitments under the Tenet plan, which include arresting wanted terrorists and collecting illegal weapons.
The new plan also includes support for a Saudi peace initiative, under which the Arab world would promise Israel full normalization in exchange for full withdrawal to the 1967 borders, and efforts to revitalize the Palestinian economy. In particular, the U.S. is proposing that Israel use frozen Palestinian Authority funds - which currently total more than NIS 1 billion - to fund economic projects in the territories.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush made the decision after his national security team advised that the action could help break a rising cycle of Middle East violence.
The official said Bush was prompted by positive developments in the region, which the official refused to specify.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer met this week with Sharon, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Ben-Eliezer and other politicians to discuss the initiative. Kurtzer said that Bush would kick it off with a speech emphasizing the depth of American commitment to resolving the conflict.
U.S. officials, who have long placed the onus on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to crack down on violence against Israelis, have recently taken a tougher stance toward Sharon.
"I, once again, call upon Chairman Arafat to make maximum effort to end terrorism against Israel, which undermines the prospects for peace," Bush said. "I'm counting on all parties in the region -- Prime Minister Sharon included -- to do everything they can to make these efforts a success."
Zinni has made two trips to the Middle East, the last one ending on January 7. Bush has declined to send him back since, apparently judging that the two sides were not ready for any fresh peace effort.
The Palestinians don't want a miltary solution because they'd have their arses handed to them.
For a moment there, I thought it was an Israeli spokesman being quoted. Huh.
Massacers? I thought it was the Pali's that were shooting and blowing up civilians in discos, shopping malls, street markets, pizza parlors, restaurants and generally at random. As far as I can tell, the IDF has only been shooting at people who've been shooting at them, while the Pali's seem to think it courageous to hide behind children.
Or mow down children with AK-47's, as they did to a nine-month-old baby they killed yesterday in Netanya. Or the babies they killed in front of the synagogue they bombed last week. Or the baby they blew up in the Sbarros in Jerusalem....
I thought it was the Pali's that were shooting and blowing up civiliansAll Palis are not the same. The ones that should be attacked are the militants, and that requires that Israel do its intelligence homework in order to carry out a secret police operation. Israel's military should guard, and their agents should infiltrate and hit. They'll never win swinging with their eyes shut.
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