| Submit your comments on this article |
| Middle East |
| Palestinian meeting in Cairo delayed again |
| 2003-01-23 |
| A ground-breaking meeting between Palestinian factions in Egypt to discuss a proposal to stop attacks on Israel was delayed again on Thursday to await the arrival of some delegates, and is likely to go ahead on Friday. Meanwhile, Hamas religious mentor Sheikh Ahmed Yassin reiterated on Thursday that his Islamic movement would not agree to a cease-fire unless Israel "stops killing and attacking Palestinian civilians." He added that "it's impossible to demand a cease-fire from someone who is under attack. If the Israeli enemy stops killing our civilians, the arrests, the demolition of homes and the assassinations, we'd consider the possibility of not attacking Israeli civilians." "We won't stop, but we'll think about considering stopping" The talks in Cairo, the first face-to-face meeting between such a broad spectrum of factions, had been planned for Wednesday but were put off to Thursday because of a last-minute dispute about who would be invited. Palestinian officials said the meeting, which will include groups ranging from Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah to Marxist and Islamist groups, was now likely to go ahead on Friday. "We cannot begin the dialogue today (Thursday) because we are waiting for the arrival of all the rest of the representatives of Palestinian groups...So the talks will be on Friday afternoon," a senior Palestinian official in Cairo said. An Egyptian source said all the factions had now arrived in Cairo and the talks would start on Friday afternoon. He said they could last three days or more. Saleh Ra'fat, representing the group FIDA, told Reuters that he and Samir Ghosheh, a Palestinian minister and representative of the Popular Struggle Front, had been delayed because Israel had only given them permission to travel late on Wednesday. An Israeli spokesman said he was checking the report. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said in a statement faxed to Reuters in Damascus that some informal talks between individual groups had begun in preparation for comprehensive talks to be held on Friday. Analysts say the chance for agreement to Egypt's proposal for a one-year cease-fire, against a backdrop of a 28-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, is slim. I've got a better chance of nailing Catherine Zeta Jones. Some factions have rejected a cease-fire, such as Islamic militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, while others have already laid down hard bargaining positions or are reluctant to commit themselves with war looming in Iraq, analysts say. Only Fatah has endorsed the truce proposal so far. But analysts said simply bringing the 10 or so groups together is an achievement that could help unify their ranks. Fat chance, each group wants to be in charge. The meeting would make a lovely target though, wouldn't it? Egypt, which in 1979 signed the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, has long played a mediation role in the Arab-Israeli conflict. As the second largest recipient of U.S. aid after Israel, some analysts say Cairo may be under pressure from Washington to calm one Middle East conflict as another one brews over Iraq. They want to be a player. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 I hate Mike Douglas. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-01-23 16:03:21 |