Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said on Monday that he is willing to hold talks with his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, but only if such a summit ”would lead to results”.
”We are in favour of any meeting which could bring an end to the suffering [of the Palestinians] and bring about the implementation of the road map,” Qorei said, referring to the moribund peace blueprint endorsed by Israel and the Palestinians last summer.
”Such a meeting is possible and we are not against it. We are very much in favour of a meeting which can lead to results,” he told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Sharon and Qorei have still not met since the Palestinian premier came to power last October.
The Israeli leader called off a meeting with Qorei back after a double suicide attack in March, accusing the Palestinian leadership of lacking the will or ability to put an end to attacks by hardliners.
Qorei was speaking as the Egyptian news agency Mena reported that the Israelis and Palestinians have accepted an Egyptian plan for a ceasefire, a resumption of peace talks and a meeting between Sharon and Qorei.
The plan, for which no timeframe has been set, falls within the framework of Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s agreement to help maintain security in the territory afterwards, Mena said.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s principal adviser, Nabil Abu Rudeina, confirmed the existence of Egyptian ”proposals” but said their implementation is dependent on an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. — Sapa-AFP
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