Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on Friday decided that the ministerial committee for security would decide Sunday whether or not Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat could leave Ramallah.
They also decided that if the Palestinians make efforts to reduce the level of violence, Israel would ease the restricitions upon them and would renew their work permits within Israel.
Sharon on Friday rejected a proposal by Ben-Eliezer to allow Arafat to travel from his compound, where he has been under house arrest for the past two months, Haaretz reported.
Meanwhile, leaders from 11 states have jointly called on Sharon and Arafat to end their conflict and resume peace talks, Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said.
In a three-paragraph letter addressed to the two leaders and disclosed to reporters by Persson on Friday, all 11 heads of state and government attending a two-day "Stockholm Progressive Summit" declared they "strongly urge you to seize the opportunity to break the spiral of terror and violence.
"Re-establish the security talks according to the Mitchell and Tenet agreements," the letter implored. "Pave the way for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority."
In the letter, copies of which were distributed by Persson's aides, summit participants including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin told Sharon and Arafat: "You two are ultimately responsible for solving the conflict."
But, according to AFP, the leaders also pledged unspecified support to Sharon and Arafat if they undertook to do so at the negotiating table.
Other leaders attending the Stockholm summit included German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. (Albawaba.com)
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