The
move is promoted by Israeli businessman Eyal Erlich, former (Member of
Knesset) MK Abdulwahab Darawshe and Dr. Yossi Ginat, who were also
behind the first similar attempt a few months ago, reported Israeli
daily newspaper Ha’aretz.
Within
the same context, Israeli President Moshe Katsav was supposed to visit
the Palestinian parliament and officially propose the cease-fire.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, accused recently by
veteran Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having no political
agenda, flatly rejected the plan.
In
addition to Katsav (who said this time too that he would only
cooperate if Sharon agreed) and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat,
who has already given his blessing to the plan, the group was now
seeking sponsorship from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former
South African president Nelson Mandela, UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan and King Abdullah of Jordan, one of the Palestinian organizers,
Samir Rantisi, an advisor to PPalestinian Authority Minister Yasser
Abed Rabbo, said Saturday.
The
cease-fire agreement is to be drafted by an attorney. The organizers
hope to set up a large meeting with 250 delegates from each side on
September 4, 2002. An official letter was sent to Sharon, explaining
the initiative in detail and asking for his blessing, but even if a
response was not received, the parties intended to go on, Rantisi
said.
A
first meeting on the issue took place Wednesday, August 7 in
Jerusalem, he said. The meeting was attended by Abed Rabbo, Hassan
Asfour (until recently a Palestinian Minister), Samih al Abed
(director-general of the Palestinian planning authority), Ziyad abu
Zayad (Fatah leader in Jerusalem and former minister) and Rantisi.
According
to Ha’aretz, the Israeli team included Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami (who
resigned from the Knesset last week), businessmen Benny Gaon, Erlich,
Yitzhak Frankenthal (one of the founders of an organization of
bereaved parents who promote peace) and Darawshe.
In
a separate related development, and on the official diplomacy front,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher held talks in Cairo Sunday,
August 11, with a senior member of Israel's parliament Haim Ramon, the
Israeli Embassy in Cairo said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Ramon,
a Labor MP and political rival to Labor head and Defense Minister
Binyamin Ben Eliezer, arrived in Cairo Sunday afternoon and also held
talks with Mubarak's political advisor, Osama al-Baz, the Embassy
added.
There
was no official comments after the meetings.
Egypt's
Foreign Ministry said Saturday Maher's talks with Ramon, who chairs
the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, were to focus
"on finding ways to halt Israel's aggression and secure the
withdrawal of its forces from Palestinian lands."
Three
other Israeli officials, all from the Labor party, visited Egypt last
month - Ben Eliezer as well as parliament speaker Avraham Burg and
Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh.
Egypt,
the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, is
the region's main broker in the Middle East conflict.
In
the same line, a French-Palestinian doctor who plans to challenge
Yasser Arafat in Presidential elections slated for next January called
for a six-month pause in the Palestinian uprising, in an interview
published Sunday.
"We
have to present a positive move. I am calling for a unilateral
suspension of the Intifada. We will give you (Israel) six months of
probation, commit ourselves to an absence of terror attacks and force
you to renew negotiations," Hossam Nazal told the Israeli daily
Yediot Aharonot.
"I
see both sides are exhausted," he told the newspaper, saying he
would travel the Palestinian territories to "convince people that
we cannot continue with the present situation of terror attacks (by
the Israeli occupation army) and counterstrikes and revenge for the
counterstrikes and more terror strikes."
