Egypt calls for Palestinian cease-fire
Conference of Palestinian factions opens in Cairo
From Sausan Ghosheh
CNN
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Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, right, met U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd Thursday, before joining cease-fire talks in Cairo.
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CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Egypt asked Palestinian delegates Thursday to agree on a mutual cease-fire with Israel -- a cease-fire designed to end the stalemate in the peace process and attract international support for their cause, a senior Palestinian official told CNN.
Delegates to the talks -- which include Palestinian militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement -- have told CNN that among the proposals they are discussing is a plan that would end attacks inside Israel, but not attacks on Israeli troops and settlers in the Palestinian territories.
Another option under discussion, they said, would be a wider-ranging cease-fire that would halt all attacks both in Israel and in the territories if Israel agreed to cooperate and begin implementation of the Mideast Quartet's so-called "road map" to peace.
The road map, backed by the quartet -- the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union, calls for steps on both sides toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establishing an independent Palestinian state by 2005.
Brokering the talks is Egypt's security chief, Gen. Omar Suleiman, who stressed the need for Palestinian factions to achieve clear results that would be announced at the end of the current dialogue.
According to a senior Palestinian official, Suleiman delivered the Egyptian message at the official opening of the conference in a session that lasted two and a half hours.
Suleiman did not go into detail regarding how the proposed cease-fire would be structured, the Palestinian official said, but he presented Egypt's analysis of the ongoing situation in the Palestinian territories, and the need for the Palestinians to come out with a new initiative that will show consensus, seriousness and responsibility on their behalf. He said such an initiative would attract the international community and re-engage it in the solving the conflict.
Separately, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters that the prospects for the Egyptian-sponsored truce talks were good, but success would hinge on Israel's readiness to join a cease-fire.
After Suleiman opened the session, the head of each faction presented his group's vision.
The factions will now be meeting privately, among themselves, for the next three days. The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qorei, will arrive in the Egyptian capital Friday or Saturday if there is progress. The closing session has been announced for Sunday, said the Palestinian official.
Palestinian delegates said there is a preliminary agreement among some of the political parties to stop killing civilians inside Israel.
In return, these delegates said, they would ask the quartet to pressure Israel to end what they call Israel's attacks on Palestinian civilians.
This, they say, would be the first step toward achieving a cease-fire as stipulated by the road map.
Some of the factions want to continue what they believe are the rights of Palestinians in resisting the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories through a variety of means, including continued armed attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers inside Palestinian territorial borders set in 1967, a Palestinian delegate said.
Other factions have proposed a complete cease-fire with conditions and timelines.
These conditions would involve Israel halting raids on Palestinian towns and the implementation of phase one of the road map. Steps included in phase one are the freezing of all construction in Jewish settlements and removing illegal Israeli outposts built since March 2001, the easing of restrictions on Palestinians and withdrawing Israeli troops from zones reoccupied since September 28, 2000.
The road map calls for Palestinians to end incitement against Israelis, accept Israel's right to exist "in peace and security," and confiscate illegal weapons and dismantle terrorists' capabilities.
In an agenda presented by the Egyptians, the delegations will consider four items:
• Revising and analyzing the situation on the ground.
• Formulating a clear and joint political strategy and program.
• Formulating a mechanism allowing for joint decision-making.
• Creating a mechanism for implementation of the political strategy, including the cease-fire talks.
