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Germany: "Last chance" for Middle East Peace After U.S. Attack
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said here Wednesday the "very last chance" for peace in the Middle East had been reached following the attacks in the United States a day earlier.
The situation in the Middle East was "very, very grave" following the attacks, Fischer told reporters before an emergency meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Brussels.
He said he had spoken to both Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres earlier the day to make his views known.
"Far-sighted decisions are called for," Fischer said if they were to seize the chance of a ceasefire.
The attacks killing thousands in the United States, in which hijacked planes crashed into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, appear to have sunk hopes that Peres and Arafat would meet this week.
Hospitals reported at least seven Palestinians were killed Wednesday in Israeli military actions.
Arafat has condemned Tuesday's attacks on the U.S. and Palestinian guerrilla groups have said they were not involved.
Suspicion is focused on Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be in Afghanistan. Bin Laden was blamed for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.
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