Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday, May 12 held talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. After their talks, President Mubarak urged Israel to change its Jewish settlement-building policy in the West Bank of the Jordan River and East Jerusalem and to ease an embargo against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, so as to provide a good environment for Palestine's internal exchanges and access to international aid.
At the same time, President Mubarak also appealed for Palestinians "to put an end" to the "conflict" or "constant fighting" in an effort to build up strength for Palestinian-Israeli peace talks for the next step.
President Hosni Mubarak is to pay an official visit to the United States on May 25-27, the Egyptian government has announced. During this three-day period, Mubarak will meet U.S. President Barack Obama and senior members of his administration to discuss bilateral ties, the Mideast Peace Process and the advancement of Palestinian-Israeli talks.
Earlier, the American side announced the scheduled, upcoming visit of President Obama to Egypt in early June, during which Obama will make his promised speech to the Muslim world. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Obama on May 18 in Washington D.C., whereas Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is due to visit the U.S. on May 28. The resumption of negotiations between Palestine and Israel, noted Abbas, will hinge on the ultimate, formal attitude of the U.S. and its support intensity to a two-state vision.
Earlier, the American side set the keynote for peace talks, namely, while assuring the security of Israel, the U.S. supports the plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state. But Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Israeli cabinet have adopted a way of sidestepping the issue on the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Several days ago, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden called on Israeli officials to work harder for "creation of a Palestinian state" or back up the "two-state solution". He also called for an end to the Israeli policy on Jewish settlement-building, one of Palestinians'key demands.
The Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Middle East Issue was convened on Monday, May 11. In the chairman's statement issued at the meeting, the U.N. Security Council called for "urgent efforts" to create a separate Palestinian state and achieve an overall Mideast Peace settlement.
The Council reiterated its call for "renewed and urgent efforts by the parties and international community to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East on the basis of 'two-state solution'".
On his part, Chinese permanent representative to the U.N., Zhang Yesui, called on the parties concerned to create an environment conducive to the peace talks. Moreover, Zhang said that the ultimate way to resolve the Palestinian issue is the realization of two states, namely, Israel and Palestine. He also called on the parties to adhere to the principle of the "land for peace" and "two-state solution".
In the long run, some critics and political analysts acknowledge, the establishment of an independent, democratic and sovereign Palestinian state, which would co-exist with Israel, could be the best option for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to end.
Lingering conflicts between Palestine and Israel are futile for stabilizing the Middle-East situation, and the ensuing sustained chaos and war turmoil in the region will do harms to all.
Middle East has long been regarded as Europe's "backyard" and the Palestinian-Israeli issue as the sphere of influence for European Union (EU) diplomacy. So, the EU has been playing a vital, significant role to some extent in this realm. As for Russia, it has worked actively and seized the initiative in re-adjusting its policy on the Middle East with an apparent intention to raise its political opposition and influence in the region.
Overall, the increasing engagement or involvement of varied parties in the Middle East issue is a "good thing" conducive to alleviating or lessening the prolonged tension and creating a new, fresh mood for peace talks as well as a favorable atmosphere to build peace in the region.
By People's Daily Online and its authors are PD overseas resident reporters Li Xiao, Li Xuejiang, Xi Laiwang, Wu Yun and Huang Peizhao
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