Palestinians seek conference on Israel

UNITED NATIONS - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for an international conference to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict and urged Israel to drop its opposition to a meeting that would address all outstanding issues.

He said the so-called Quartet of key international players trying to promote Mideast peace - the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia - should "play the role of an honest intermediary and guarantor" of the agreements reached at the conference.

Abbas made the proposal in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. His speech was read by the Palestinian U.N. observer, Riyad Mansour.

A fragile cease-fire went into effect early Sunday between the Palestinians and the Israelis, ending a five-month offensive in Gaza that has killed hundreds. Abbas said more than 510 Palestinians have been killed since June, bringing the total since September 2000 to more than 4,300 people, about a third of them children.

"We call upon Israel, which did not commit itself to the cease-fire, to end all its aggressive military actions in order to reach a comprehensive and mutual cease-fire," he said. "This shall enable us to create the right atmosphere and provide the necessary groundwork for the resumption of negotiations and the attainment of a just solution."

Israel's deputy U.N. Ambassador Daniel Carmon stressed the importance of this week's speech by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who proposed that Palestinians return to peace talks, saying his country would be willing to leave most of the West Bank in exchange. He urged that it be read "very carefully and in the right context."

Asked about an international conference, Carmon said he was sure that in Abbas' speech "there were some very interesting and positive elements, but history has shown us that the best way to negotiate and to solve our problems is through direct talks between the parties."

Abbas, however, said finding a just solution based on previous agreements, the Quartet's stalled road map to peace, and the goal of two states - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace, requires much broader international involvement.

He warned that Israeli measures to maintain control over large and important parts of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley" will undermine the two-state solution and force the Mideast "into further violence and chaos, the consequences of which will not be limited to the Middle East region."

If Israel continues to reject an international conference and a role for the United Nations, Abbas said the Palestinians will seek a General Assembly resolution.

He called the 1947 General Assembly resolution that partitioned Palestine "the beginning of our people's ongoing tragedy." But he said "the occupation of our land cannot continue forever, and the time has come to put an end to the bloodshed and to decades of hatred and hostilities."

Adding to Palestinian problems is a Western boycott of the current Hamas-led government over its refusal to recognize Israel.

Source

About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here

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.