SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt, Feb. 8 - The new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared an effective cease-fire here today in the four-year, low-intensity war known as the intifada.
Mr. Abbas said that he and Mr. Sharon "have jointly agreed to cease all acts of violence against Israelis and Palestinians everywhere."
Mr. Sharon, in a separate statement, said he and Mr. Abbas "agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and in parallel, Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere."
Both men, in statements coordinated with each other, spoke of a new "opportunity" for peace and calm, and of a new beginning - a chance "to disengage from the path of blood," as Mr. Sharon put it, "and start on a new path."
Mr. Abbas said: "The calm which will prevail in our lands starting from today is the beginning of a new era," and he vowed to spare no effort "to protect this emerging opportunity for peace."
Both men were careful not to use the word "cease-fire." But if they can succeed in turning this period of relative quiet into a real cessation of violence, followed by agreed-upon moves to reduce the impact of Israeli occupation on the Palestinians and serious negotiations about peace, today will mark an important turning point in relations.
But there was an immediate reminder of the fragility of today's declarations from the radical Palestinian group, Hamas. The group's spokesmen insisted that Mr. Abbas's declaration of a truce was not binding on them, but a unilateral declaration of the Palestinian Authority.
In Beirut, a Hamas spokesman, Osama Hamdaneh, said the cease-fire "does not commit the Palestinian resistance" because it was not fully negotiated with Hamas and all Palestinian prisoners were not released. In Gaza, another Hamas spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, said the Abbas declaration "expresses only the position of the Palestinian Authority and does not express the point of view of the factions," and he insisted that "the summit hasn't led to anything new and the Israeli position hasn't changed."
Hamas has agreed to a temporary period of quiet, and Hamas statements today may be more rhetorical than substantive, an effort to remind Palestinians that Hamas has been fighting the Israelis, not making concessions to them.
But the Hamas rebuttals are a sharp reminder of the limits of Mr. Abbas's authority right now, even with the backing of Egypt and Jordan, and of the fragility of the declarations made today.
Israel has made it clear that if attacks continue and Mr. Abbas does little to stop them, Israel will resume its military activity.
"One can only have a cease-fire with a state or authority that controls security," a senior Israeli official cautioned here today. "You can't have a cease-fire with armed terrorist groups, because you give them a veto over peace. What we have today is a cessation of violence, and it can become something more if Abbas moves to crack down" on the militants, take away their weapons and destroy their mortar and rocket factories.
Mr. Abbas has not yet named a new cabinet or reformed his security forces, the Israelis point out, with one senior military official saying: "We know he needs time, and we will give him time, but he doesn't have a limitless amount of time."
But the day was filled with the symbolism of renewed hopes, as the Israeli and Palestinian leaders sat at a large round table with their host, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan's King Abdullah II. In the hall, the Israeli flag was displayed next to the Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian flags, Israeli spokesmen spun their messages on Egyptian and Arab television stations and both Egypt and Jordan announced that they would soon return their ambassadors to Israel.
Mr. Sharon, on only his second visit to an Arab country as prime minister - he commanded Israeli forces who took this resort in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war - had long and cordial meetings with Mr. Mubarak, whose aides talked of a visit to Israel, and with Mr. Abbas, with whom he chatted in English and invited on a working visit to his farm in Israel.
More.... http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/i...e58&ei=5053&partner=NYTHEADLINES_INTL
ravensteve, before you say anything, no Bush didn't help them out. They did that on their own.
Mr. Abbas said that he and Mr. Sharon "have jointly agreed to cease all acts of violence against Israelis and Palestinians everywhere."
Mr. Sharon, in a separate statement, said he and Mr. Abbas "agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and in parallel, Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere."
Both men, in statements coordinated with each other, spoke of a new "opportunity" for peace and calm, and of a new beginning - a chance "to disengage from the path of blood," as Mr. Sharon put it, "and start on a new path."
Mr. Abbas said: "The calm which will prevail in our lands starting from today is the beginning of a new era," and he vowed to spare no effort "to protect this emerging opportunity for peace."
Both men were careful not to use the word "cease-fire." But if they can succeed in turning this period of relative quiet into a real cessation of violence, followed by agreed-upon moves to reduce the impact of Israeli occupation on the Palestinians and serious negotiations about peace, today will mark an important turning point in relations.
But there was an immediate reminder of the fragility of today's declarations from the radical Palestinian group, Hamas. The group's spokesmen insisted that Mr. Abbas's declaration of a truce was not binding on them, but a unilateral declaration of the Palestinian Authority.
In Beirut, a Hamas spokesman, Osama Hamdaneh, said the cease-fire "does not commit the Palestinian resistance" because it was not fully negotiated with Hamas and all Palestinian prisoners were not released. In Gaza, another Hamas spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, said the Abbas declaration "expresses only the position of the Palestinian Authority and does not express the point of view of the factions," and he insisted that "the summit hasn't led to anything new and the Israeli position hasn't changed."
Hamas has agreed to a temporary period of quiet, and Hamas statements today may be more rhetorical than substantive, an effort to remind Palestinians that Hamas has been fighting the Israelis, not making concessions to them.
But the Hamas rebuttals are a sharp reminder of the limits of Mr. Abbas's authority right now, even with the backing of Egypt and Jordan, and of the fragility of the declarations made today.
Israel has made it clear that if attacks continue and Mr. Abbas does little to stop them, Israel will resume its military activity.
"One can only have a cease-fire with a state or authority that controls security," a senior Israeli official cautioned here today. "You can't have a cease-fire with armed terrorist groups, because you give them a veto over peace. What we have today is a cessation of violence, and it can become something more if Abbas moves to crack down" on the militants, take away their weapons and destroy their mortar and rocket factories.
Mr. Abbas has not yet named a new cabinet or reformed his security forces, the Israelis point out, with one senior military official saying: "We know he needs time, and we will give him time, but he doesn't have a limitless amount of time."
But the day was filled with the symbolism of renewed hopes, as the Israeli and Palestinian leaders sat at a large round table with their host, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan's King Abdullah II. In the hall, the Israeli flag was displayed next to the Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian flags, Israeli spokesmen spun their messages on Egyptian and Arab television stations and both Egypt and Jordan announced that they would soon return their ambassadors to Israel.
Mr. Sharon, on only his second visit to an Arab country as prime minister - he commanded Israeli forces who took this resort in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war - had long and cordial meetings with Mr. Mubarak, whose aides talked of a visit to Israel, and with Mr. Abbas, with whom he chatted in English and invited on a working visit to his farm in Israel.
More.... http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/i...e58&ei=5053&partner=NYTHEADLINES_INTL
ravensteve, before you say anything, no Bush didn't help them out. They did that on their own.
