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Sharon-Arafat Summit on Ceasefire Possible: Minister
A summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for signing an official ceasefire deal is possible, Israeli Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit said on Wednesday.
Sheetrit, a member of Likud party, made the remarks in an interview with Israel's Army Radio. This may show that Sharon became more flexible regarding a summit meeting with Arafat, whom he blamed in the past for the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence. The clashes had lasted for more than eight months and over 570, most of them Palestinians, have been killed so far.
If Israel and the Palestinians are able to achieve an effective ceasefire, Israel is willing and able to consider carrying out the Mitchell report's guidelines, Sheetrit said.
The report, published last month by an international fact- finding committee headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell on the cause of the violence, recommended both sides to reach a truce, carry out confidence-building measures after a cooling-off period, and resume peace talks thereafter.
Analysts pointed out that Israel's changing of stands on a Sharon-Arafat summit may be a result of great international pressure.
In the next few days, Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, European Union foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana, and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet are all due to arrive in the region to press for such a meeting to foster the fragile ceasefire.
Sharon announced a unilateral ceasefire two weeks ago, which the Palestinians claimed at that time only as a "public relations ploy."
Arafat ordered a truce a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up and killed 20 Israelis, most of them teenage girls, outside a Tel Aviv disco Friday night. Despite sporadic incidents, the ceasefire generally held in the past three days.
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