Britain Urges Israel to Drop Ban on Palestinians in London Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, January 08, 2003

Britain Urges Israel to Drop Ban on Palestinians in London Talks

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday urged his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon to lift the travel ban on Palestinians to attend a Palestinian reform conference in London later this month, it was reported in London.

In a letter to Sharon, Blair explained the full context and importance of the meeting he has proposed, a spokesman for Blair said.

The Israeli cabinet barred Palestinian leaders from attending the London talks after two suicide bombings killed more than 20 people in a crowded area in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Sunday.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday that he regretted the Israeli government's decision after ringing Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly refused Straw's call for a reverse of the ban.

Blair in December invited Palestinian leaders to come to Londonin mid-January for Palestinian reform talks, which were expected to draw together representatives of the diplomatic Quartet of the Mideast mediators, the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia, as well as those from other countries in the Middle East.

The invitation was not extended to Israel, which argued that aninternational peace plan for the Middle East would fail unless there was a change in the Palestinian leadership.

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