Palestinians, Israel announce cease-fire

[Matt]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/08/mideast/index.html
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt

(CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced a cease-fire Tuesday, hailing it as a new opportunity for peace in the Middle East.

"We have agreed with Prime Minister Sharon to cease all violence against the Israelis and against the Palestinians, wherever they are," Abbas said after talks at their summit in Egypt.

The historic summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh -- hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II --is the first upper-level meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in more than four years.

"A new opportunity for peace is born," Abbas said.

Sharon said Israel will cease its military operations in all locations in return for Palestinians' ending violence against Israelis.

"We really hope this day will be the day that marks the relaunching of the process for a better future that will lead us towards mutual respect and peace in the Middle East," Sharon said.

'We can move forward'
Details of the agreement were not made available, but on Monday, Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin said the Palestinians would declare an end to "violence, terrorism and incitement" against Israel.

In return, Gissin said, Israel will refrain from military action "to the extent that the Palestinians will fulfill their pledges and their commitments."

"It will be their responsibility to stop terrorists," Gissin said. "To the extent that will be fulfilled, we can move forward."

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erakat said Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed to revive committees set up to deal with prisoners, the redeployment of troops, Palestinian fugitives and deportees.

Sharm el-Sheikh has been the site for high-profile summits before. President Bill Clinton helped negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian agreement there in October 2000 that ultimately failed to bring peace.

President Bush met with Arab leaders at the venue in June 2003 during a trip that also included a meeting in Jordan with Sharon and Abbas, then the Palestinian prime minister.

Tuesday's summit is the first time Sharon and Abbas have met since the new Palestinian Authority president was elected following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

After Abbas' election, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have taken confidence-building steps regarding security, Palestinian prisoners and a proposed Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

Abbas has deployed security forces within the Palestinian territories to prevent terrorist attacks, and Israeli officials have approved the release of some Palestinian prisoners.

Last week, an Israeli Cabinet committee approved an end to targeted killings of suspected Palestinian militants and a military withdrawal from five West Bank cities, sources in Sharon's office said.

Items expected to be taken up at the summit include the status of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories and the West Bank barrier under construction by Israel, Erakat said.

Also Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- after talks with Sharon and Abbas -- announced the two leaders have agreed to meet separately with President Bush in the spring.

"This is the most promising moment for progress between Palestinians and Israelis in recent years," Rice said. "I depart the region confident of the success of the meeting tomorrow between President Abbas and Prime Minster Sharon."

Rice also said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William Ward will act as a security coordinator and will visit the region in the next few weeks. Ward also will work on Mideast security issues with Egypt and Jordan, she said.

Ward's responsibilities will include helping the Palestinians train and equip their security forces. Among his duties, Rice said, would be monitoring compliance with Israeli and Palestinian security agreements.

Bush 'impressed'

During his weekly Cabinet meeting on Monday, Bush said he looked forward to meeting with Sharon and the Palestinian leader. "I've been impressed by Prime Minister Abbas' commitment to fighting off terror," Bush said.

"I've also been impressed by the fact that Israel helped the Palestinians have an election, went out of their way to make sure that people were allowed to go to the polls."

A senior State Department official said future international meetings linked to the Mideast peace process are being discussed. Sponsors of the so-called Mideast road map -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- may gather soon, the senior State Department official said.

The road map calls for an end to Israeli-Palestinian violence, followed by a "final and comprehensive" settlement of the conflict and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Bush has asked Congress to provide the Palestinian Authority with $350 million in U.S. funds to help rebuild infrastructure damaged or destroyed in the Palestinian territories after four years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In addition, another $40 million will be "reprogrammed" from money already authorized for a desalination plant and used for immediate assistance in similar infrastructure programs, Rice said.

CNN's Ben Wedeman, Guy and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

[lukpac]

Great news. Let's hope it lasts.

[Rspaight]

With Arafat gone, there's finally the opportunity to try something new.

Ryan

[krabapple]

I hate getting optimistic about stuff in the Middle East (these days: Iraq's new government, Israeli-Palestinian peace..)

It only makes the let-down that much more painful...

[Beatlesfan03]

I hate getting optimistic about stuff in the Middle East (these days: Iraq's new government, Israeli-Palestinian peace..)

It only makes the let-down that much more painful...

Indeed...I give it a month tops. Some idiot will start a chain reaction and we'll be back to square one again.

[Dob]

Some idiot will start a chain reaction and we'll be back to square one again.

That seems to be the unbreakable pattern. The media will soon be back to flogging that overused phrase, "fragile cease-fire."

[dcooper]

It will really only take one Palestinian terrorist to break the cease-fire since Israel will be unable to keep itself from responding to a terrorist attack with a military assault. And instead of seeking out the terrorists (on both sides) who continue to fuel this war, the U.S. will sit back and do nothing.

Meanwhile, Iraq still burns and the War Room is working furiously on its Iranian plan of attack.