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Arafat Agrees to Meet with Israeli FM, Sharon Welcomes
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed on Tuesday to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to discuss ways of ending the violence between the two sides.
"I'm willing to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Berlin as he has proposed," Arafat said at a press conference held with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer after their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Arafat stressed that the Palestinians were committed to the peace process and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Israel.
Fischer, who arrived in Ramallah earlier in the day, told reporters before his meeting with Arafat that "there were concrete proposals to settle the disputes in phases and put an end to the violence."
The recommendations of the Mitchell report, released in May, should be immediately implemented to end the existing tensions, he stressed.
Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, secretary general of the Palestinian National Authority, said earlier that "Fischer's visit demonstrated European Union's concern about the Israeli aggressions on the Palestinian people."
He expressed confidence that "the European Union can put pressure on Israel to stop its hostilities (against the Palestinians)."
Fischer arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Monday at the start of a regional tour, which has also taken him to Israel.
Peres Confirms Possible MeetingIsraeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in his first reaction to the news that he and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will meet soon in Berlin, confirmed Tuesday that he intends to attend such a meeting in the near future.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Peres said that " a date would be established following his return from Hungary and Poland, and once Arafat has returned from a visit to China."
The talks are expected to find a way to end the 11-month-old violence between the Palestinians and Israel, during which over 700 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed.
Peres, who is currently in Budapest, Hungary, for a visit, emphasized: "Israel does not believe in a military solution to the conflict, but rather in a political solution, and it is doing its utmost to end the terrorism and achieve a return to the negotiating table."
"The solution lies in a reconciliation between the two peoples," the dovish foreign minister added.
Earlier Monday, Arafat announced after his meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer in the West Bank city of Ramallah that he was willing to meet with Peres "at any moment."
Peres said in his statement that Arafat's announcement was not a surprise to him as he had met with Arafat for many times in the past.
Analysts worried that the talks might be cancelled as a car bomb exploded in close to the Israeli police headquarters in central Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon, which caused no injuries.
Peres said in the statement, "far more could be achieved through words than through bombs, and that Israel wishes to bring the present conflict to an end."
Sharon Welcomes Peres-Arafat Meeting Plan: RadioIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Tuesday welcomed the news that his Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are expected to meet in Berlin in the next few days for ending the violence with the Palestinians, Israel Radio reported.
Sharon was informed by visiting German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer about the plan during their meeting Tuesday afternoon in Jerusalem, according to the report.
Sharon, a hawkish Israeli leader, thanked Germany for its efforts in the region, the report added.
Fischer met with Arafat earlier Tuesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after which Arafat announced that he is willing to meet with Peres in Berlin "at any moment." Fischer reportedly passed on Peres's message to meet with Arafat during the meeting.
Peres, a dovish leader, has been trying to arrange for such a meeting in the past few days.
Peres and Arafat are also expected to discuss the implementation of the Mitchell report, published in May by an international fact- finding committee on the violence, which has left over 700 people, most of them Palestinians, dead.
It was the second time that Fischer's diplomatic efforts in the region bore fruits. During his last visit to the region, he played a mediatory role for a ceasefire between the Palestinians and Israel. Though the truce gradually collapsed later.
The German foreign minister is also scheduled to meet with Israeli Knesset (parliament) speaker Avraham Burg later. Fischer started his current Mideast tour on Monday.
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