dilloduck
Diamond Member
Sharon, Abbas Pledge to End Violence, New Peace Talks (Update1)
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today pledged to end more than four years of bloodshed and revive efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict.
``We have agreed, myself and Prime Minister Sharon, to stop all acts of violence against Israelis and Palestinians wherever they are,'' Abbas said after meeting with Sharon in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. ``The calm that we see in our land is the beginning of a new era, it is the start of security and peace.''
More than 4,500 people have died on both sides since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, or intifada, broke out in September 2000.
The meeting between the two leaders was the first since June 2003, when they joined U.S. President George W. Bush in Aqaba, Jordan, and declared support for the international peace plan known as the ``road map.'' The plan would end violence and establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The U.S.-backed peace effort collapsed within months amid Palestinian suicide bombings and Israel's targeted killings and military raids in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Opportunity
``I have no intention of missing this opportunity,'' Sharon said. ``We must not let the new spirit, which grants our peoples hope, pass us by and leave us empty-handed.''
The election of Abbas as president last month, succeeding Yasser Arafat, together with Sharon's plan to withdraw troops and settlers from the West Bank, has given new life to the peace process, Israelis and Palestinians say.
Bush proposed a $350 million aid package for the Palestinians last week in his State of the Union address and yesterday invited Sharon and Abbas for separate meetings at the White House this spring.
Israel dates the resurrection of the peace process directly to the Nov. 11 death of Arafat, whom Sharon and Bush called an ``obstacle to peace.''
Israel's benchmark TA-25 Index has risen 17 percent since Arafat's death, reaching a record on Feb. 6 of 656.40. Tourism and foreign investment are also returning after a four-year ebb.
Challenge
Both Israelis and Palestinians challenged each other to make sure that their leaders' speeches, committing themselves to peaceful dialogue instead of a military confrontation, don't end as empty words. Previous Arab-Israeli summits have been full of optimistic talk before Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli air raids caused the peace process to disintegrate.
``It's a time of opportunity,'' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a joint press conference in Rome today with Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini. ``There's a long road ahead, but both parties seem committed.''
The summit at the beachfront Jolie Ville Moevenpick Golf Resort Hotel was hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who urged the Israelis and Palestinians to pursue the benefits of peace. King Abdullah II of Jordan, leader of the second Arab country after Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel, also participated in the summit talks.
``We have gathered today to end difficult years in which lives were taken, blood was shed and people have lost hope,'' Mubarak said. ``We have gathered to make the wheel of peace move forward again.''
not getting much attention---interesting
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today pledged to end more than four years of bloodshed and revive efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict.
``We have agreed, myself and Prime Minister Sharon, to stop all acts of violence against Israelis and Palestinians wherever they are,'' Abbas said after meeting with Sharon in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. ``The calm that we see in our land is the beginning of a new era, it is the start of security and peace.''
More than 4,500 people have died on both sides since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, or intifada, broke out in September 2000.
The meeting between the two leaders was the first since June 2003, when they joined U.S. President George W. Bush in Aqaba, Jordan, and declared support for the international peace plan known as the ``road map.'' The plan would end violence and establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The U.S.-backed peace effort collapsed within months amid Palestinian suicide bombings and Israel's targeted killings and military raids in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Opportunity
``I have no intention of missing this opportunity,'' Sharon said. ``We must not let the new spirit, which grants our peoples hope, pass us by and leave us empty-handed.''
The election of Abbas as president last month, succeeding Yasser Arafat, together with Sharon's plan to withdraw troops and settlers from the West Bank, has given new life to the peace process, Israelis and Palestinians say.
Bush proposed a $350 million aid package for the Palestinians last week in his State of the Union address and yesterday invited Sharon and Abbas for separate meetings at the White House this spring.
Israel dates the resurrection of the peace process directly to the Nov. 11 death of Arafat, whom Sharon and Bush called an ``obstacle to peace.''
Israel's benchmark TA-25 Index has risen 17 percent since Arafat's death, reaching a record on Feb. 6 of 656.40. Tourism and foreign investment are also returning after a four-year ebb.
Challenge
Both Israelis and Palestinians challenged each other to make sure that their leaders' speeches, committing themselves to peaceful dialogue instead of a military confrontation, don't end as empty words. Previous Arab-Israeli summits have been full of optimistic talk before Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli air raids caused the peace process to disintegrate.
``It's a time of opportunity,'' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a joint press conference in Rome today with Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini. ``There's a long road ahead, but both parties seem committed.''
The summit at the beachfront Jolie Ville Moevenpick Golf Resort Hotel was hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who urged the Israelis and Palestinians to pursue the benefits of peace. King Abdullah II of Jordan, leader of the second Arab country after Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel, also participated in the summit talks.
``We have gathered today to end difficult years in which lives were taken, blood was shed and people have lost hope,'' Mubarak said. ``We have gathered to make the wheel of peace move forward again.''
not getting much attention---interesting
