EU, US to Put Pressure on Israel for Truce

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 10, 2002

EU, US to Put Pressure on Israel for Truce

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The 15-nation European Union (EU) and the United States have agreed to make a joint appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to halt military action against the Palestinians, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"The EU and the United States are preparing a diplomatic initiative to Mr Sharon to urge an immediate ceasefire and to ask both parties to go back to the negotiating table," ministry spokesman Hans Janssen told reporters.

EU and U.S. representatives in Tel Aviv could present the initiative to Sharon as early as Sunday morning, he added. "There is continuous and intensive communication between the EU and the U. S. representatives...We hope it will take place Sunday morning," Janssen was quoted as saying by reports reaching here.

On Friday Israeli forces inflicted the bloodiest losses on the Palestinians on a single day in 17 months of conflict, killing 35 people, as Sharon opened the door to the prospect of renewed ceasefire talks. Sharon said he was willing to negotiate a cease- fire even as violence in the region rages, which represents a major shift from his previous demand for a seven-day period of calm before any talks between the two sides.

Details of the joint EU-U.S. initiative emerged following Dutch expressions of concern to Israel about the continued violence, Janssen said. These concerns were relayed by Dutch Foreign Minister Jozias Van Aartsen in a phone call to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Brussels and Washington agreed that a wave of recriminations on both sides was spiraling out of control, Janssen said.

"The joint initiative will say that this violence has to stop immediately, that the military intervention of the Israeli government leads to nothing, just into a spiral of action and reaction without an end," he said.

Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and Van Aartsen were quoted by Dutch newspapers on Saturday as saying diplomatic pressure had to be put on Israel to stop military incursions into the occupied Palestinian territories.

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