Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said Friday he will argue that Israel's security is essential for any Middle East peace agreement, as he prepares to kick off an EU tour of the region that will take him and the accompanying delegation to Egypt.
"There is no solution for the Middle East if in this solution we cannot guarantee, with the whole international community, the security of Israel," he said in an interview published in the Jerusalem Post, cited by AFP.
The delegation is to visit Egypt, the Palestinian territories, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
"There is no peace without security," he said.
Verhofstadt, who holds the rotating European Union (EU) presidency, is being accompanied on his three-day tour starting late Friday by EU Commission President Romano Prodi, the EU's chief diplomat Javier Solana, and Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel.
Their goal is to help persuade Israel and the Palestinian leadership it is their best interests to restart the peace process after almost 14 months of clashes, which have left more than 970 people dead.
"What we want to do is to try to get both sides to commit to some steps in the direction of the Mitchell report, of re-launching the peace process in the Middle East," Verhofstadt told the newspaper.
He underlined that Europe was "neutral" in the conflict.
Al Gomhuria Cairo-based daily, reported that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will meet the Troika delegation later Friday.
The paper quoted the EU ambassador to Cairo as saying that the European envoys will also meet senior Egyptian officials
The Mitchell plan calls for a ceasefire, a six-week cooling off period and freeze on Jewish settlements, accompanied by various confidence-building measures, before a return to political talks.
"Israel should understand that it can use the EU to increase pressure on the side of the Palestinian Authority, to help to restore a situation of less violence and if possible, no violence in the region," the Belgian leader said.
He said the delegation would urge Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to take the "necessary measures" to end the violence, and that "he has to commit himself to arresting terrorists."
Verhofstadt also said the EU may be prepared to play a role to ensure that arrested militants are kept under detention.
"We have proposed to both parties some very practical ideas to guarantee that the people whom they have agreed should be put in a detention building, where there is a guarantee from both sides that they are there, that they are staying inside," he said.
Asked whether this meant the EU could manage jails in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the premier said: "That is a possibility. I don't say that it has to happen." – Albawaba.com
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