ISRAEL on Sunday took a further step away from a threatened military offensive on the Gaza Strip while welcoming a new peace call by three Arab leaders as a positive sign that could revive talks.
The moves came amid a flurry of developments that have suddenly brightened hopes for Middle East peace only five days after they were jolted by a deadly suicide bombing and Israeli vows of revenge.
On Saturday, the leaders of Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia concluded a closely watched mini-summit, declaring the Arabs were determined to make peace with Israel and rejected ”all forms of violence”.
They met as more than 60 000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories in Israel’s largest peace rally since the latest conflict erupted 19 months ago.
In Bethlehem, the first mass at the Nativity Church since the end of Israel’s 39-day siege was held Sunday, while European Union ministers prepared to decide the fate of 13 Palestinian militants transferred to Cyprus en route to exile.
Israeli state radio said the army began standing down reservists called up for an operation against the largely Gaza-based Islamic group Hamas, which claimed Tuesday’s deadly suicide bombing outside Tel Aviv.
The report was the latest indication the Jewish state had put on hold the threatened attack in retaliation for the pool hall blast that killed 16 Israelis and wounded another 55.
Sharon, who was having talks in Washington with US President George Bush just as the explosion went off, cut short a US trip and flew home vowing to avenge the deaths. But the tough talk soon became muted.
Raanan Gissin, reprsentative for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, denied reports that Israel’s decision had been made under heavy pressure from Washington, which wanted to keep chances for peace talks alive.
”Israel deferred a military operation in the Gaza Strip for political and strategic considerations, but certainly not following American pressure,” Gissin said.
But David Maguen, head of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committee, told state radio the decision was ”part of a political calculation.”
”Israel is reaping the results of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s recent visit to Washington and there were very positive developments, particularly at Sharm el-Sheikh.”
He was referring to Saturday’s summit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz that ended with a new appeal for peace.
The three key Arab leaders ”restated the Arabs? sincere determination to achieve peace and their rejection of all forms of violence,” according to a statement issued after the gathering.
Gissin called the text ”encouraging,” adding, ”We have to see how it will translate concretely on the ground. It?s progress that could bring us closer to a return to the negotiating table”.
Nabil Shaath, Palestinian international cooperation minister who met with the Saudi and Egyptian foreign ministers at Sharm el-Sheikh, said there was a better feeling about the US stance once regarded as solidly pro-Israel.
”There is more optimism about the possibility of a change in the American attitude, which will head in a more positive direction and become more understanding of the Arab and Palestinian position,” he said.
He said the Arab diplomats also spoke of US commitments to seek an end to Israeli attacks and their blockade of Palestinian areas, and to push for moves toward a final settlement as soon as possible.
This, he said, would be furthered by an international conference grouping concerned Arab states, Israel and the ”quartet” of Middle East peace sponsors: the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, meanwhile, told the Italian newspaper La Republica that a proposed peace conference could be held in June, possibly in Italy or Turkey.
”It is an opportunity that must not be lost, because if it is postponed, there could be more acts of terror,” Peres said in the interview published on Sunday.
Domestic pressure on Sharon’s government also increased after Saturday night’s peace rally in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square where demonstrators waved placards saying ”End the occupation of the territories”.
”Last night was a historic moment,” said Didi Remez, representative for Peace Now, one of the main groups behind the rally.
”It’s become a hobby to belittle moderate and peaceful movements, but this is a statement that we’re back, we’re strong and we’re not going to be ignored,” said Remez, who put turnout at closer to 100 000.
In Bethlehem, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos I celebrated the first mass to be held inside the sixth-century Nativity Church complex after Friday’s end to the standoff between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen.
According to the head of the Greek Orthodox parish for Bethlehem, Father Speridon, the mass was a reconsecration since the church marking the spot where was Jesus was born had been desecrated during the siege.
But politics also weighed at the holy site as a senior clergyman celebrating a special mass at an adjoining church blasted Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory as ”the root of evil” in the Middle East.
”As long as the root of evil is there, the violence will stay. The root of evil is the Israeli occupation,” the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Monsignor Michel Sabbah, told the mass to reconsecrate the Sainte-Catherine church.
Since the siege ended and the 123 remaining people were evacuated, priests and parishioners have been cleaning up the compound littered with clothes, garbage and mattresses, and marked by bullet holes.
Meanwhile, 13 Palestinians, who hid in the church from Israeli forces who branded them as ”senior terrorists”, idled at a beachside hotel in Cyprus while awaiting word on their final destinations in exile.
European countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece have been touted to take them in and EU foreign ministers were due to take a decision on Monday at their monthly meeting in Brussels. – Sapa-AFP