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"There is a push for a new truce, a real truce, that both sides will have to respect," said Shaath
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Additional
Reporting By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff
CAIRO,
August 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Egypt launched a
new diplomacy drive Friday, August 22, to contain the explosive
situation in the occupied Palestinian territories after the Israeli
assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Abu Shanab, but
stressed that must stop assassinating Palestinian activists.
Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak's top adviser Osama al-Baz made an impromptu
visit to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials aimed at
crafting a new truce by resistance groups raging with anger over the assassination
of Abu Shanab in a Gaza raid.
Baz
met with Arafat and Abbas for three hours and discussed means of
salvaging the moribund peace process, said Palestinian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Nabil Shaath, who also attended the meeting.
He
said after the meetings that Palestinian leaders were requesting more
time to deal with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, reported Haaretz.
Baz,
who was also due to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom,
said he had handed a message from Mubarak to Arafat.
"Every
side must implement its commitments to the roadmap to save the peace
process. If not, the consequences will cause a lot of suffering on
both sides," he was quoted as saying.
Egyptian
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher underlined Thursday, August 21, that the
incessant Israeli assassination policy plays into the hands of
anti-peace elements.
"The
Israeli assassination policy and the use of violence against the
Palestinian people - despite sincere efforts by the Palestinian
government Palestinian to salvage the truce – only serve powers
seeking to hamper the implementation of the roadmap," said the
top Egyptian diplomat.
Shaath,
for his part, said the "Palestinian leadership welcomes this
visit, as Egypt always stood by the Palestinians and is now looking
for a way out of the crisis," he told reporters after the
meeting.
"There
is a push for a new truce, a real truce, that both sides will have to
respect," Shaath said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas
and Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement earlier Friday, formally
ending the truce and heaping blame on Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon for wrecking the fragile ceasefire.
While
intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has visited the Palestinian
territories frequently in recent months, Mubarak rarely dispatches his
top political aide.
Differences
Well-informed
Palestinian sources told IOL there were major difference between
Arafat and Abbas with respect to dealing with the resistance factions.
The
Palestinian premier favors disarming factions and preventing them from
carrying any retaliatory attacks against Israel.
He
fears any attacks by the factions would nip in the bud political
solutions that have been put forward to the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict, including U.S.-backed roadmap, said the sources.
Arafat,
on the other hand, takes into consideration Palestinians’ fury over
the Israeli aggressions.
The
Palestinian leader, who was elected in a 1996 public elections, is
averting a confrontation with his people, especially that the majority
of Palestinians maintained that resistance groups should remain armed
until the Israeli occupation of their land is brought to an end.
U.S.
Pressures
In
a related development, U.S. President George W. Bush ordered freezing
the assets of top Hamas leaders in Europe and five non-governmental
organizations there thought to aid the Palestinian movement.
The
U.S. has taken such action against Hamas before, but a senior
administration official explained the new action targeted
"individuals, entities and organizations based in Europe."
Following
the assassination of Abu Shanab, Powell stepped up the hostile
rhetoric against Hamas, demanding the world community and Arab nations
"insist that the terror perpetrated by organizations such as
Hamas must come to an end."
Meanwhile,
Palestinian sources told IOL U.S. National Security Advisor
Condoleezza Rice phoned Egyptian and Saudi officials and told them
Israel would decisively retaliate any reprisal actions by Hamas.
She
also echoed Bush’s argument that Palestinian resistance groups
should be disarmed, and called for an Arab intervention to help
salvage the Middle East peace process.
Also,
chief U.S. Mideast peace monitor John Wolf, dispatched hastily to the
region, was to hold new talks with both sides, U.S. officials said.
He
arrived Wednesday and quickly scheduled talks with Avi Dichter, the
head of Israel's internal security service Shin Beth as well as Abbas
and Dahlan.
But
he has largely been keeping a low profile and "staying below the
diplomatic radar," as one envoy put it.
