Israel will formally respond in the coming few days to the Egyptian-Jordanian proposal for ending the violent escalation in the Palestinian territories and resuming the peace process, Israel Radio reported Monday, cited by Haaretz newspaper.
The proposal was formally presented last week to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
It creates a framework for mutual steps to be taken by Israel and the Palestinian Authority to reach a cease-fire, rebuild confidence and resume the dialogue between them.
According to the initiative, Israel would lift the closures in the territories and withdraw to positions it held on the eve of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, as well as freeze new settlement activity.
The Palestinians would guarantee a renewal of security cooperation, and end incitement to violence, said the paper.
After a period of calm in the territories, the negotiations for a final agreement will resume, with an effort to complete them within a year.
The paper reported, meanwhile, that Sharon said that he was leaning toward accepting the proposal.
In a meeting of the security cabinet, Sharon said "the Jordanian-Egyptian proposal is important, but the content is not good enough, and it needs to be changed somewhat. We'll study the initiative, and we'll see what we can do to change it," the paper quoted him as saying.
The European Union last week announced its support for the plan, and this weekend, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana is due in Jerusalem as part of his efforts to prepare a report on ways the EU can step up its involvement in the Middle East, said Haaretz - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
