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| Israel-Palestine |
| Egypt Agreement Could Frame Mideast Peace |
| 2004-12-08 |
| Egypt reported Tuesday reaching an understanding with Israel, the Palestinians, the United States and Europe for a comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would include a truce and a peace conference in the American capital next summer. The report by Egypt's state-run news agency, MENA, came amid increased optimism over the peace process after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last month and the prospect of Palestinian elections in January. Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, has taken an active role in mediating between the two sides, and there have been signs of increasingly warm ties between Israel and Egypt. MENA said Egypt's plan, which was discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other officials, included the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza and a plan for Egyptian border troops to be responsible for security of the Egyptian-Palestinian border and the Palestinian side of the border with Israel. MENA said a dialogue among Palestinian factions on a cease-fire agreement would begin in March in Cairo. The report said Egypt would seek an international peace conference in Washington next July to discuss the plans, and predicted continued improvement in Israeli-Egyptian relations. In Jerusalem, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, welcomed a possible truce. Just as Egypt was talking of a new truce, however, Hamas militants broke three weeks of relative calm in Gaza, setting off a bomb that killed a soldier and triggering Israeli retaliation that killed four Palestinian gunmen. Hamas claimed its men dug a tunnel to booby-trap a chicken coop, then lured troops to the area with the help of a double agent and exploded the bomb, killing an Israeli handler and his bomb-sniffing dog. Israel TV reported that the dog set off the bomb, killing the soldier and two Palestinians guarding the entrance to the tunnel. The TV report said the tunnel was dug in the direction of the nearby Israeli border fence and was apparently designed to allow Palestinian attackers to cross under it into Israel. Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been urging militant groups like Hamas to stop attacks against Israelis, to allow for a calm presidential election campaign, but the militants have made no promises. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Husni thinks Egypt is regional superpower. |
| Posted by: gromgorru 2004-12-08 6:04:00 PM |