Israel Must Lift Siege Before Talks Can Resume: Palestinian MinisterPalestinian International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath said here Thursday the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks depends on Israel's end of siege on the Palestinian territories.The official MENA news agency quoted Shaath as saying that Palestinians are ready to resume negotiations with Israel, but the Jewish state must first pull back its forces and lift its closure on the Palestinian self-rule areas. Shaath made the remarks while commenting on a statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat wants to resume the peace process. Shaath said "the Palestinian side has never declared to give up the peace process," adding that it is difficult for the time being to talk about peace when Israel is attacking the Palestinians and putting them under a fatal air, land, and sea closure. He urged Israel to implement the Sharm el Sheikh agreement reached between the two sides last month, which required Israel to withdraw its troops from Palestinian towns they garrisoned after the eruption of the current Palestinian-Israeli clashes. During last month's multilateral summit held at Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharm el Sheikh, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat agreed to take measures to stop the bloody clashes between the two sides, which have kill over 260 people, mostly Palestinians, and wounded thousands since late September. The peace talks between the two sides have not resumed since the collapsed summit between Barak and Arafat hosted by United States President Bill Clinton at Camp David in July. Officials Meet at Erez CheckpointSenior officials of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) met Thursday evening to try to bring calm to the Palestinian territories, Israel Radio reported.Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh and Coordinator for the Territories Maj-Gen Ya'acov Orr met with PNA Minister of Civil Affairs Jamil Tarifi and PNA Secretary-General Tayeb Abdel-Rahim. |
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