Israel Urged to Act "in Good Faith" over Truce with PalestiniansEgyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher Sunday in Cairo called on Israel to act "in good faith" in implementing a US-brokered ceasefire plan with the Palestinians.Maher termed as "unreasonable" Israel's demand for the right to decide when a period of total calm between the Palestinians and Israelis will begin before entering a cooling-off period, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported. "Should Israel be given the right to set the timetable, it would be dangerous because the right may play into the hands of the anti-peace elements, particularly on the part of Israeli settlers," Maher said. Following separate talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the two sides agreed to a seven-day "completely quiet period" before implementing the next phase of starting a six-week "cooling-off" period as stipulated by the Mitchell report. But the Israeli side has insisted that it has the right to decide when the period of total calm will begin. Maher called for resuming the long-stalled Mideast peace process "as soon as possible," adding that Israel must set about taking "serious" measures under the recommendations of the Mitchell report. The Mitchell report, released in May by an international panel led by former U.S. senator George Mitchell, urges both sides to break the cycle of violence, carry out confidence-building measures after a cooling-off period, and finally resume their peace talks. "It would be unacceptable and inconceivable for Egypt, the Palestinians and the U.S. if the Israelis get the right to veto the implementation of such measures," Maher said, stressing that the Mitchell report has security and political aspects that cannot be " separated." He also urged the U.S. to spur the deployment of international observers to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire plan and the Mitchell report recommendations. The ceasefire plan brokered by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief George Tenet went into effect on June 13. But sporadic shootings and confrontations between the two sides have never stopped since then. More than 600 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed since the outbreak of the bloodshed in last September. |
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