| It's traditional, isn't it? |
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Mahmud Abbas were both facing threats to their authority Wednesday after agreeing at a landmark Middle East summit to end four years of bloodshed. While world leaders hailed what they widely saw as a chance of a historic breakthrough between Israel and the Palestinians, commentators warned that many obstacles lay ahead on the road to peace. Both Sharon and Abbas declared a ceasefire at the summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh but the main Palestinian militant movement Hamas swiftly dampened some of the optimism by saying it was not bound by the deal.As Sharon prepared to brief his senior ministers on the outcome of his historic meeting with Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the shores of the Red Sea, his disgruntled Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom pledged to lead a campaign to ensure his flagship project to quit Gaza is put to a referedum. Abbas was also facing a struggle to persuade militant factions such as Hamas to support his declared agreement with Sharon "to cease all acts of violence against Israelis and against Palestinians wherever they are." In his summit speech, Sharon had reiterated his determination to implement his plan to pull troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip.