Israeli, Palestinian Leaders to Issue Statement on Ending ViolenceIsraeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are due to issue an identical statement on ceasing the month-long violence Thursday afternoon.This follows an understanding reached between Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres and Arafat late Wednesday night in Gaza. Gilad Sher, director of Barak's office, said on Thursday that the Peres-Arafat understanding does not constitute a ceasefire but a sharp reduction in the violence. In an interview with Israel Radio, Sher, who also took part in the meeting between Peres and Arafat, said that Israel did not make any promise to the Palestinians in exchange for taking measures to reduce the violence. The current Israeli-Palestinian bloody clashes which erupted at the end of September have so far claimed more than 160 lives, mostly Palestinians. |
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