Egypt warns of violence over West Bank settlements
Reuters
Date: 09-01-05
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt on Thursday warned Western governments that Israel's construction of West Bank settlements hindered the chances for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, a foreign ministry source said.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a letter that the building of settlements in the West Bank, where the Israeli settler population has grown by more than 9,000 this year, strengthened the position of Palestinian militants.
The letter dealing with ways of resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after Israel's evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank enclaves warned of resumed fighting between the sides.
"The continuation of Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the construction of the separation wall and the Israeli steps of closure implemented on the Palestinians ... strengthen the position of those saying that violence is the only means to push Israel to withdraw," the letter said.
Aboul Gheit, whose country became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel in 1979, sent his letter to the European Union, the United States, Russia, the United Nations, France, Britain, Germany and Spain.
A foreign ministry source quoted the letter as saying that that "leads to the retreat of the opportunities for the resumption of serious political dialogue and returns the two parties to the whirlpool of violence."
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon says the trade-off for ceding Gaza will be permanent Israeli control over West Bank settlement blocs he regards as strategically vital to Israel.
That would strip Palestinians of large chunks of land central to their goal of a viable state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Source
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
|