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Sharon, Abbas declare ceasefire at summit
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-09 13:52
In a crucial step heralded as a fresh start to peacemaking, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas promised Tuesday to
halt all acts of violence and agreed to meet again soon to tackle the tougher
issues that for decades have blocked the road to peace.
In this picture
released by the Israeli Government Press Office Palestinian Authority
president Mahmoud Abbas, left, also known as Abu Mazen, and Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon shake hands during an intermission of their meeting
at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, Tuesday Feb 8, 2005.
[AP] | Even if their cease-fire pledge sticks,
much negotiating lies ahead as the two sides work to rebuild the trust destroyed
in four years of deadly attacks.
"What we agreed upon today is simply the beginning of the process of bridging
the gap," Abbas said after his first face-to-face meeting with Sharon since
succeeding Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian leader made clear the two sides have
yet to wade into more fundamental issues, including control of Jerusalem and
"the settlements, the release of prisoners, the wall."
The speeches by the two leaders at this Egyptian resort, broadcast live on
Israeli and Arab TV stations, were greeted with a mixture of hope and skepticism
on a cold, rainy day back home. Many people said they would settle for modest
improvements in their daily lives.
"We've gone from euphoria to extreme disappointment," said Shimrit Golan, an
Israeli law student who lives in Jerusalem. "We'll wait and see what happens."
"I hope the leaders are serious this time, because the future is dark," said
Raed Omar, a university student in Gaza City.
The militant group Hamas threw up an immediate roadblock, saying it was
waiting to hear from Abbas and to see what Israel would do before committing to
a halt in violence.
Yet the verbal cease-fire pledge and the sight of Abbas and Sharon grinning
broadly as they shook hands across a summit table were the clearest signs yet of
a new life for the peace process after Arafat's death in November and Abbas'
election in January.
One Israeli official, Gideon Meir, said "there was a great atmosphere in the
talks ... smiles and joking." In another sign the talks went well, Egypt and
Jordan announced they would return their ambassadors to Israel after a four-year
absence - possibly within days.
Emerging from private talks, Sharon promised that the Israeli military would
stop attacks on Palestinians, and Abbas promised a halt in militant attacks on
Israelis.
"We must move forward cautiously," Sharon said. "This is a very fragile
opportunity that the extremists will want to exploit. They want to close the
window of opportunity for us and allow our two peoples to drown in their blood.
... If we do not act now, they may be successful."
In the first reported violation, Palestinians shot at a car near a West Bank
Jewish settlement after nightfall and fired and threw firebombs at soldiers who
came to investigate. No one was hurt. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, affiliated
with Abbas' Fatah movement, claimed responsibility.
Privately, Israeli officials made clear their halt in military operations
depended on an end to Palestinian violence. And although they do not expect the
Palestinian leadership to crack down on militants immediately, that must be done
in the long-term, they said.
"At the end of the day, there should be disarming of these groups - no
question about that," Meir said.
Abbas has deployed Palestinian forces throughout the Gaza Strip to stop
militants from launching rockets at Israel in recent weeks, and is negotiating
an agreement with Palestinian militants to halt suicide bombings, shootings and
other attacks.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath traveled to Syria on Tuesday night
and briefed its government on the summit. In Damascus, he said he also spoke to
officials of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group.
Asked whether Hamas would continue attacks against Israel, the group's
representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, replied: "Our decision depends on the
achievement of a substantial change (in Israel's position) to meet Palestinian
demands and conditions."
Hamdan said for a truce to be successful, Israel must release Palestinian
prisoners and make a clear commitment to "halt all kinds of aggression against
the Palestinian people." He contended those conditions were not met.
Across the world, the cease-fire breakthrough raised cautious hope.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed what she called a new will for
peace in the region but said the Palestinians now must work strenuously to
prevent violence. President Bush (news - web sites) provided a boost of momentum
on the summit's eve by inviting both sides to separate talks at the White House
this spring.
In London, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw pledged Britain would do all it could
to help, but noted there had been "rather too many false dawns" in the
long-running conflict. German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer said in Berlin
that "the renewed U.S. engagement is of central significance."
Just 20 months ago, Abbas stood next to Sharon at an international summit in
Aqaba, Jordan, and called for an end to the Palestinian armed intefadeh. Yet
less than three months later, violence had again broken out on both sides.
This time, the cease-fire agreement was accompanied by several concrete
goodwill gestures.
Shaath said the leaders agreed that Israel would immediately free 500
Palestinian prisoners, to be followed by 400 more at a later stage.
Also, Israeli troops will complete their handover of five West Bank towns to
Palestinian control within three weeks, Shaath said. Israeli and Palestinian
security commanders are to meet Wednesday to prepare the handover of Jericho,
the first West Bank town on the list of five.
The two sides also agreed to form a committee to work on the sticky issue of
Palestinians wanted by the Israelis for past attacks. Sharon adviser Raanan
Gissin said any agreement would include the Palestinians taking responsibility
for monitoring the wanted men.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the summit's host, said the agreement also
might provide new life to progress on the Syrian-Israeli peace track, which has
been stalled for years.
And Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the summit could lead to
diplomatic relations between Israel and other Arab nations, especially those in
the Persian Gulf and North Africa.
In one of the most symbolic gestures out of the summit, Sharon invited Abbas
to visit him at his ranch in Israel and Abbas accepted, Meir said.
Shaath said the visit would take place soon and be followed by other meeting.
Talks by lower-level officials were to resume Wednesday.
"We have an opportunity to start on a new path for the first time in a long
time," Sharon said.
The Israeli leader, in what he said was a direct address to the Palestinian
people, said: "I assure you that we have a genuine intention to respect your
rights to live independently and in dignity. I have already said that Israel has
no desire to continue to govern over you and control your fate."
But in one West Bank coffee shop, most of the 50 customers did not look up
from their card game during the broadcast. One man screamed "pig" every time he
saw Sharon on TV.
Israelis said they were hopeful that the era of suicide bombings and rocket
attacks is finally over.
"I hope that she was the last victim, that she is looking down on us from
heaven today as the last victim," said Yonatan Abukasis, whose 17-year-old
daughter, Hela, died Jan. 21 from wounds suffered in a Palestinian rocket
attack.
She was the last Israeli to be killed before Sharon and Abbas made their
truce declarations.
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Lara Sukhtian,
Salah Nasrawi and Sarah el-Deeb in Sharm el Sheik; Mohammed Daraghmeh in
Ramallah; Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City; and Josef Federman in Jerusalem.
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