European Union leaders called Saturday for the early convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East, warning the region had reached a "dramatic turning point."
In their statement, the European leaders declared they stand "ready to contribute fully to peace-building" and the reconstruction of the Palestinian economy.
It said an international peace conference - jointly hosted by the EU, the United States, the United Nations and Russia - was needed to discuss security, political and economic issues and set a timetable for a definitive peace agreement.
"Further escalation will render the situation uncontrollable," according to the draft EU summit text. "The parties on their own cannot find a solution. There is an urgent need for political action by the whole international community."
The statement said the EU "strongly condemns all terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians" and called on Israel to cease all "military operations in the Occupied Territories."
The EU leaders called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to reform his administration, adding they expect the "Palestinian Authority to make good on its commitment to security reform, early elections and political and administrative reform," news agencies reported.
In Washington, officials said the Bush administration's silence on the Middle East stems from a debate within his administration on how much democratic reform to require of Arafat before Washington can endorse the launch of provisional Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Israel's Security Cabinet endorsed a plan to gradually reoccupy Palestinian land until attacks on Israelis stop.
The Security Cabinet of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Friday and upheld the harsher policy of permanently occupying Palestinian land. "We will act more intensively, more deeply ... because the terrorism is more intense, deeper and more rooted. No one else is stopping it," said Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Yarden Vatikai, according to AP.
Israel Radio said that while a major operation was in the offing, officials did not believe it would match the scale of the massive, six-week military campaign launched in March.
However, Amos Yaron, director general of the Defense Ministry, said in an interview on Israel Radio Saturday that the military was preparing a "crushing and decisive" response to the attacks. "We have to take much more massive action than we have up until now. If this entails entering the territories and staying there a long time, then we will have to consider it," he said.
In Jenin, rumors of a brief break in a 3-day-old military curfew sent residents rushing to the market to replenish supplies on Friday. When troops searching the area for an explosives laboratory spotted a group of Palestinians heading toward them in violation of the curfew, a tank fired two shells to deter them, the Israeli army said. Four Palestinians were killed.
Asked about the Jenin shooting, Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rudeuneh said Israel's policy of reoccupying Palestinian areas endangered peace prospects. He urged Washington to step in. "Israel is taking advantage of this American absence and this American green light," Abu Rudeuneh said.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher said "we would expect the Israelis to look into this kind of tragic incident."
Jenin was calmer Saturday, with Israeli tanks withdrawing from an area near a high school so students could take final exams. In Bethlehem, shoppers jammed the streets after a curfew was lifted for three hours. Fire from an Israeli tank damaged the gate to An-Najah University in Nablus, but no casualties were reported. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
