Eight Arab ministers follow up implementation of Summit resolutions

Foreign ministers from eight Arab states and the Palestinian Authority will hold talks in Jordan today on latest efforts to consolidate a precarious truce between Israel and the Palestinians. The ministers will also follow up resolutions adopted by a recent Arab summit held in Amman in support of the Palestinian people

"The mission of the foreign ministers participating in the (relevant) committee is to urge (Arab) countries to continue implementation of the resolutions taken by the summit," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher yesterday.

The foreign ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Palestine have been charged with following up the decisions of the Arab League summit in Amman last March.

The summit pledged political and financial support to the Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, against Israeli occupation.

The Egyptian Minister said that making a political progress would be the real guarantee of a ceasefire and halt to violence.

"The issue is not limited to security, which is to be fulfilled when there are political moves and negotiations in which Israel should show good intentions," added Maher. He was referring to a ceasefire brokered last week between Palestinians and Israelis by CIA Director George Tenet.

The truce has lowered the intensity of Israeli-Palestinian tensions this month but the two sides are some way off ending the bloodshed and resuming peace talks

At least 458 Palestinians, 112 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since the unrest in the West Bank and Gaza broke out in September after peace talks negotiations stalled.

The Egyptian minister renewed Egypt's opposition to any bid to encroach on Palestinians' rights or to use force against them.

"Egypt rejects any violation of this agreement( brokered by Tenet). The Tenent plan should not be perceived as a separate matter.

It is part of an essentially political process which lies in implementing the Mitchell Committee recommendations. Maher was referring to a report recently released by a fact-finding panel led by former US senator George Mitchel.

The report investigating months of Palestinian-Israeli tensions, has called for halting violence and a total freeze on Israel's settlements activities.

"The ultimate aim of the current process is to stop Israeli practices and shift towards serious negotiations on the basis of the terms of reference agreed upon," said Maher.