Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland urged Palestinians and Israelis Saturday to resume peace talks based on the principles of the Oslo agreements, reported AFP.
"Both parties must resume their negotiations because there is no way back, and all the items we find in the Oslo accords must be dealt with in future negotiations," Jagland said after talks in Amman with his Jordanian counterpart, Abdel Ilah al-Khatib.
Jagland, said AFP, sensed some positive signs emerging from Israel following his initial concern over the election of Israeli hawk Ariel Sharon as prime minister.
"We were concerned because of what we heard during the election campaign, but we have seen some new things after the election which we find encouraging," Jagland said.
"I believe that it is a good thing if one could get a broad coalition government in Israel, it could be a better thing for the (Palestinian-Israeli) peace process," he added.
Khatib said he discussed with Jagland the situation in the Palestinian territories, focussing mainly on the economic hardships facing the Palestinian people.
UN officials have warned in recent days that Israel's economic blockade of the West Bank and Gaza was undermining the Palestinian economy and could trigger even more violence.
On Friday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the closures "deprive the Palestinian Authority (PA) of necessary financial resources and aggravate the serious economic and social crisis in the occupied territories."
The UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Terje Roed-Larsen, said earlier that the fiscal crisis is acute and Palestinian institutions may crumble in the very near future.
Roed-Larsen said 50 million dollars a month was needed to keep the PA afloat, and that the money held back by Israel already totaled 54 million dollars.
Meanwhile, the US-led inquiry commission investigating violence in the Palestinian territories resumed its work there Saturday after a three-week halt following Israel’s decision to boycott the commission.
The Jewish state said its decision was in protest of a visit by the commission to Al-Aqsa compound without Israel’s approval.
The commission, headed by former US senator George Mitchell, includes Jagland, former US senator, Warren Rudman, Turkish former president, Suleyman Demirel, and EU foreign chief, Javier Solan – Albawaba.com
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