Israeli FM to Attend Euro-Mediterranean MeetingIsraeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami is to participate in the fourth Euro-Mediterranean foreign ministers meeting despite the violence with the Palestinians, his ministry said on November 15.The two-day meeting, which will open in Marseilles, France, in the day, is aimed at enhancing regional cooperation in politics, economy, culture and security among the European Union (EU) members and countries in the Mediterranean region, said a statement issued by the ministry. The 15 EU members and 12 Mediterranean countries held a meeting in Barcelona, Spain, in 1995 to kick off the process. But the Palestinian-Israeli clashes in nearly seven weeks may overshadow the meeting. The violent clashes, which erupted on September 28 due to Israeli violation of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, have claimed the lives of more than 200 people, almost all of them Palestinians, and wounded thousands of others. It was unknown whether Arab member countries, including the Palestinian National Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, would boycott the meeting due to the participation of Israel. An emergency Arab summit on October 21-22 called for suspension of normalization activities with Israel. |
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