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Annan touring for peace
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UN chief Kofi Annan wrapped up his Middle East tour yesterday after urging Israel and the Palestinians to seize the opportunity for peace, while the two sides prepared for more talks on furthering their shaky US-brokered truce.
Annan had meeting scheduled with Israeli President Moshe Katsav and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on the last day of his week-long trip, which has been marked by a sharp drop in violence following the ceasefire accord forged by CIA chief George Tenet.
On Saturday, Annan met separately with both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, urging them to “seize the moment” and work towards a lasting peace.
“I think we have an opportunity, but a fleeting opportunity, to resolve this issue, and we should,” Annan said after meeting Arafat.
There has also been little let-up in the bitter war of words between Israel and the Palestinians, each accusing the other of breaching the ceasefire.
Israeli cabinet minister Dan Naveh accused Arafat's Palestinian Authority of failing to implement two key elements of the ceasefire which came into force last Wednesday after an intensive shuttle mission by Tenet.
But Arafat also said that nothing has changed on the ground from Israel's side.
On the agenda for yesterday's security meeting was a timetable for further steps under the ceasefire, including the lifting of the crippling blockade on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Annan stressed that for the ceasefire to hold it was necessary to begin implementing the recommendations of the US-sponsored Mitchell Report, which calls for a cooling-off period followed by a series of confidence-building measures, including a halt to Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory and action by the Palestinians against terrorism.
In his meeting with Annan over dinner, Sharon was “very insistent... that the cooling-off period couldn't start until complete tranquility has been achieved, 100 per cent ceasefire, and that Arafat was perfectly capable of achieving that if he so wishes,” said a UN official who attended the dinner.
(SD-Agencies)
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