Suleiman met Arafat and Qrei for a truce between Israel; one Palestinian was killed
Egypt-Palestine, Politics, 11/18/2003

The Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his prime minister Ahmad Qrei have concluded talks in Ramullah with the director of the Egyptian intelligence Lt. Gen. Omar Suliman dealing with a truce between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

The talks which were attended by the Palestinian foreign affairs minister Nabil Shaath and the head of negotiations Saeb Oreikat and several security officials dealt with halting the barrier being built separating Israel and the Palestinian territories and Israel's implementation of certain items of the first phase of the Roadmap plane.

Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Suliman met with the chairman of the Israeli Mossad, Maier Dagan, in an indication that Cairo is mediating actually with the two sides to create smooth atmospheres in preparation to convene a new truce between the two sides.

Earlier, Suliman took place in the dialogue between the Palestinian authority and resistance groups which yielded in announcing a conditional truce unilaterally on June 29 on the part of Palestinians. The truce collapsed on August 22nd.

The visit of the Egyptian officials comes before a forthcoming meeting between Qrei and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon. News reports said that Suliman will try to reach a joint Palestinian- Egyptian position prior to the meeting.

News reports said that member of the political bureau of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzouk, told Suliman during a recent visit to Cairo that his movement is ready for "a comprehensive ceasefire if Israel will vow, openly, it will commit to halt all forms of aggressions."

Abu Marzouk said that Hamas asks for international guarantees in order to honor the truce, noting that during the truce period to which the Palestinian groups committed ( some 27 Palestinians were killed and 450 Israeli attacks took place against the Palestinian territories. The truce collapsed after Israel assassinated one of the movement's leaders Ismael Abu Shanab.

Meantime, Palestinian medical and security sources said that one Palestinian was killed yesterday by the bullets of the Israeli occupation forces in Toulkarem to the north of the West Bank.

Youssef Taleb (22 year old) was hit by two bullets in his chest and stomach when Israeli soldiers who entered the city opened fire at a group of Palestinians while throwing stones at them.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli occupation forces arrested three activists in Toulkarem to the north of the West Bank including an official in the People's Front For the Liberation of Palestine. Palestinian security sources said that the detainee is Nayef Jarad, the political official in the People's Front. The sources added that two other activists were wounded during the incursion operation and they were also detained by the occupation forces, noting that one of the detainee is an activist in the al-Aqsa group of the Fatah movement, Other news reports said that the Israeli occupation forces on Sunday evening destroyed several houses for the people of Aserah al-Shemaleyah near Nablus and broke into several houses of the village on which curfew is imposed for the 6th running day.

On the other hand, the Israeli "peace now" movement which opposes settlement said in a statement yesterday that 103 shanty settlements are in the West bank while five out of the 8 settlements removed in recent months are reconstructed.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Ra'i al-Aam: Hashem legitimizes National Resistance against occupation   (11/10/2003)
  1000 Palestinians stuck in Rafah crossing due to Israeli measures   (10/31/2003)
  Egypt: UNGA resolution sends warning to Israel   (10/24/2003)

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