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No Negotiations Under Fire: Sharon
The Israeli government would not hold diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians under fire, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday in Jerusalem.
In a telephone conversation with King Abdullah of Jordan, Sharon emphasized that all types of terror must first stop completely before resuming peace talks with the Palestinians, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
"There will be the need for a trial period during which terror from the Palestinian side would have to stop," Sharon told Abdullah, apparently referring to the four-week cease-fire proposal that has been discussed Sunday in Cairo, capital of Egypt and Aqaba, southern Red Sea resort of Jordan, between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Egyptian and Jordanian officials.
"The situation on the ground is intolerable...and apart from talking, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has done nothing serious," Sharon said.
Sharon also told Abdullah that the PNA should be responsible for preventing terrorism and that if it did not do so, Israel would do it instead.
Peres, after holding talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and with Abdullah in Aqaba on Sunday, returned to Israel. He told reporters upon his return that the Palestinians had proposed the four-week cease-fire and after which negotiations would resume.
But, he added, no agreement has been reached right now on this issue.
"Israel has not yet responded to the proposal and I will brief Sharon about this matter and the Israeli government will decide on it soon," Peres said.
Talking to reporters in Cairo earlier Sunday, Peres said that a cease-fire would be considered according to results on the ground and that in any case Israel would demand several weeks to analyze the implementation of the cease-fire before resuming negotiations.
Peres is scheduled to leave for Washington Sunday night for a four-day visit to the United States, during which he will hold talks with U.S. official on the developments in the Middle East.
Israel Eases Siege of Palestinian Territories: PeresVisiting Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Sunday said in Amman his government will take immediate measures to ease the blockade on the Palestinians.
In a meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah Bin Hussein in Jordan's southern harbor city of Aqaba, Peres said that starting from Sunday Israel will reopen Gaza airport, permit more Palestinian workers to work in Israel, ease restrictions on the movement of Palestinians on their own lands.
This move to relax the siege on Palestinians was welcomed by analysts as a positive step to defuse the escalating tensions in the region.
During the meeting, the Jordanian king reaffirmed that achieving a just, comprehensive and durable peace on the basis of international legitimacy and ensuring Palestinian people's legitimate rights is the sole way for peace and security in the region.
The monarch stressed that cessation of (Israeli) aggression and use of force against Palestinians and lifting the blockade is a precondition for creating a proper environment to bring the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track.
Israel's siege of Palestinian territories crippled their economy, inflicted millions of dollars in losses on Palestinian authorities and workers, and exacerbated the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, political observers and analysts said.
The lifting of the blockade has been a major demand from the Palestinians and its Arab allies to defuse the tensions in the region.
During Sunday's meeting, Abdullah stressed that there is no alternative to fully lifting the siege imposed on Palestinian lands and withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories, to create a proper environment for a resumption of negotiations.
He also emphasized Jordan's principle stand of rejecting Israeli settlement activities in Palestinian lands, which he said are a clear violation of international laws and a unilateral act that contradicts Israeli commitments to the signed agreements between the two sides.
Peres, who arrived here from Cairo earlier in the day, also conveyed Abdullah a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on a Jordanian-Egyptian peace initiative to end the Israeli- Palestinian violence.
The seven-month conflicts have left over 470 people dead, mostly Palestinians, since the outbreak of Palestinian intifada (uprising) last September.
Jordanian officials remained tight-lipped about details of Israeli demand for modifying the peace plan, but said they will consult with Egyptian leaders over Israel's response to the peace package.
The peace plan called on Israel and the Palestinians to take confidence-building measures and resume peace talks on the basis of international resolutions and agreements already reached between the two sides.
Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries which have signed peace treaties with the Jewish state.
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