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Sharon Demands 10 Days of Complete Calm Before Cooling-off Period
Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demanded on Tuesday that there be 10 days of complete calm between Israelis and the Palestinians before moving to a six- week cooling-off period as proposed by the Mitchell report.
"I think that we have very clear a timetable. It should be completely quiet; full cessation of terror violation and incitement. And once that will happen, we'll have to wait several days to see that works," Sharon told reporters after a meeting with US President George W. Bush at the White House.
"I think that we have to wait 10 days. And once it will be completely quiet, then we'll start with the cooling-off period," he added.
Sharon, who is on his second trip to the US after the inauguration of the Bush administration, said earlier that Israel will refuse to negotiate with the Palestinians unless there is a complete cessation of violence.
"The Israeli position is that we can negotiate only, and we would like to negotiate only when it will be a full cessation of hostilities, terror, violence and incitement," he said in a joint photo session with Bush prior to their formal meeting at the Oval office.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians will reportedly present a document to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell at a meeting on Thursday, calling on Washington to demand that Israel freeze settlement construction before there is a complete cessation of hostilities.
"Confidence-building measures cannot be held hostage to an unattainable and unrequired standard," the document said.
"A lengthy cooling-off period and indefinite delays with respect to when this period starts coupled with an unrealistic demand for a complete cessation of violence will only result in failure," it noted.
The Mitchell report, presented in May by an international fact- finding commission headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell, has proposed an complete cessation of violence in the Middle East, followed by a six-week cooling-off period and confidence-building measures from both Israelis and the Palestinians, with an eventual resumption of negotiations between the two sides.
Powell's three-day trip to the Middle East, which begins on Wednesday, is aimed at shoring up a cease-fire reached between Israelis and the Palestinians two weeks ago and persuading the two sides to work out a timetable to implement the recommendations of the Mitchell report.
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