G8 ministers urge Mideast monitors

Tight security at all city entry points

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- G8 foreign ministers have called on Israel and the Palestinians to accept outside monitors to help implement a peace plan amid worries over rising violence in the Middle East.

The ministers from the seven leading industrial democracies and Russia, who are wrapping up two days of talks in Rome, are drawing up the agenda for a summit of the G8 leaders due to start on Friday in Genoa, Italy.

Other topics they reviewed included world poverty, AIDS and the conflict in Macedonia.

The G8 ministers said the Mitchell plan was "the only way forward to break the deadlock, to stop the escalation and to secure the political process."

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The report by an international commission, headed by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, called for a cease-fire, confidence building measures, a freeze on Israeli settlement building and denunciation of "terrorism."

The ministers added in a separate statement from their final communique: "We believe that in these circumstances, third party monitoring, accepted by both parties, would serve their interests in implementing the Mitchell report."

Diplomats described this as a strong signal to both Israelis and Palestinians to end the mounting violence, Reuters reported.

They also said that the U.S. which earlier described the monitoring idea as premature, was in full agreement with the European proposal.

The G8 communique made it clear any monitoring force must have Israeli consent -- something that Israel has consistently rejected.

And on Thursday, Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said they would not allow it now.

"Observers or monitors are not acceptable to us for the simple reason that when there are observers deployed here, there has to be observance of the cease-fire, and unfortunately and regrettably I must say that the Palestinian Authority has not observed the cease-fire," Gissin told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters have begun arriving in Genoa where police are sealing off the central part of the city.

Mass demonstrations are planned for Thursday in advance of the summit opening. About 20,000 police and soldiers are on duty.

The three-day summit is the latest international gathering to be targeted by demonstrators loosely grouped under the banner of the anti-globalisation movement.

Tensions are high after two letter bombs exploded in the city, a series of police raids, increased border checks and a reported threat to U.S. President George W. Bush who is to attend the conference.

The two letter bombs -- one on Wednesday and one on Monday -- each injured one person and there have been a number of other real and hoax bomb threats around the country in the run-up to the summit.

Police have thrown a ring of steel around the centre of Genoa and introduced a "red zone" surrounding the G8 venue into which only pass holders and residents can enter.

Outside the venue, 15,000 police will be on duty while fighter jets, helicopters, warships and surface-to-air missiles have all been brought in to defend Genoa, elaborate measures that cost $110 million.

But protesters are confident their demonstrations will take place. The leader of one hardline Italian group, "Tute Bianche" (White Overalls), said in an interview with Reuters that thousands of demonstrators would attempt to storm the summit venue on Friday.

And the celebrated anti-globalisation activist French farmer Jose Bove added: "(Bush) says that the anti-G8 demonstrators are against the poor people of the world. Clearly Bush is lying, just as the other G8 leaders meeting here in Genoa lie."

Bush will be in Genoa for the entire summit and has hit out at protesters. Bush, quoted by The Associated Press, said: "Those who try to disrupt and destroy and hurt are really defeating ... their cause, it seems like to me. I think a lot of people in the world are just kind of sick of it."

Adding to the security headache is a reported assassination threat against Bush by millionaire militant Muslim Osama bin Laden.

Earlier this month AP reported that the head of Russia's Federal Security Services viewed "the threats as totally serious."