Shaath speaks on Wye agreement as Israel says it will implement it
Palestinian minister of planning and international cooperation Nabil Shaath told on Monday Arab ambassadors at the Arab league and its secretary general Ismat Abdul Meguid about the Palestinian position concerning Wye Plantation agreement.
In a meeting for the Arab ambassadors at the Arab league on Monday, Shaath conveyed a message from Yasser Arafat calling upon their foreign ministers to continue pressure on Israel so as to abide by agreements signed on the Palestinian track and the Madrid terms of reference.
The Syrian ambassador Issa Darwish left before the end of the meeting while the ambassadors of Lebanon, Libya, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Qatar delegated their charge d'affairs to act on their own behalves. During the meeting, Shaath stressed the commitment of the Palestinians to resume multilateral talks and not to take part in regional meetings attended by Israel unless talks are resumed on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks.
He stressed the need to abide by the recent Cairo summit resolutions held in Cairo in June, 1996. He asserted that the Palestinians did not give "any concessions in Wye Plantation." They rather "achieved gains especially the new area from which Israel will withdrawal releasing 750 Palestinian detainees, the security passage between the West bank and Gaza and operating Gaza airport. Shaath continued "we have succeeded in converting the US from a strategic ally to Israel into a mediator in the peace process after President Clinton has signed the Wye plantation agreement." "We asserted to hand over any Palestinian to Israel and that the role of the US intelligence is limited just to brief it with security measures taken by the Palestinians to prevent any suicide and explosion acts," one source quoted Shaath as saying.
Meantime, in a statement to MENA Shaath asserted the Palestinian commitment to announce their independent state in next May. he called upon the European countries to recognize this state and its border to the 1967 border line. Such recognition, he said is but a European guarantee in support of the Palestinians in their stand not to give up one inch of their territories." He expected even Washington to recognize this state. He called upon Cairo to mediate for settling disputes with Syria. President Arafat spares no efforts for making contacts with the Syrians he said.
All this comes as Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa received his first communique from his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon in which he pledged Israel's commitment to the said agreement which was sponsored by the US.
Israel's ambassador in Egypt who carried the communique said today that the Israeli cabinet would continue its halted discussions to ratify the Wye Plantation agreement starting tomorrow and will last three days, alongside discussions by the Knesset. He stated that the agreement will be implemented during one or two weeks.