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Sharon, Peres Coordinate Stands on Egyptian-Jordanian Proposal
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres Friday noon to coordinate their stands on an Egyptian-Jordanian peace proposal aimed at ending the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence and restarting peace talks.
The meeting came two days prior to Peres' scheduled visit to Egypt on Sunday, during which he is expected to informally submit Israel's response to the proposal to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, officials in Prime Minister's Office said.
The plan urges both sides to firstly take measures to reduce the violence on the ground, and then to adopt confidence-building steps before resuming their peace talks from the point they broke off.
According to Israel's media reports, Israel has four major reservations regarding the plan:
Firstly, Israel opposes the proposal calling on an absolute freeze on settlement construction;
Secondly, Israel demands a detailed list of steps Palestinians must take to build mutual-confidence, such as arresting " terrorists" and collecting "illegal weapons;"
Thirdly, Israel denies recognizing any verbal understandings reached under the previous Ehud Barak government in Camp David last July and in Egyptian Red Sea resort of Taba this January;
Fourthly, Israel rejects a clause barring the use of "weapons banned under international law," arguing that Israel never uses such weapons in the violent clashes with the Palestinians in the past seven months.
More than 470 people had been killed and nearly 20,000 wounded in the clashes, most of them Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Israeli right-wing politicians Friday attacked Sharon's readiness to accept the plan.
Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi, leader of hawkish party Yisrael Beiteinu - National Union, charged in an interview with Israel Radio that Sharon is breaking his pledge not to conduct negotiations "under Palestinian fire."
He also insisted that Sharon should bring the plan before the full cabinet or the inner-circle security cabinet for discussion before sending Peres to discuss the initiative in Cairo.
"We joined the government to protect the land of Israel, not to act as cover for the moves of the previous government in different channels," said Ze'evi.
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