Egypt and Jordan rejected on Sunday any fundamental changes to their joint peace initiative aimed at halting the escalating violence in the Occupied Territories and promoting the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks.
The announcement came after a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
Mubarak met Saturday with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to discuss the Mitchell Commission report on the outbreak of violence in the Occupied Territories.
In parallel with the meeting between Mubarak and Abdullah, who also discussed the Mitchell Commission report, delegations from Egypt and Jordan, headed by the prime ministers of the two countries, also met to exchange views on the current situation in the region, reported Al Ahram daily.
After the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa announced that Egypt and Jordan were refusing to make changes to their joint peace initiative, the paper quoted him as saying.
Moussa said the joint initiative's chances of success were "slim," emphasizing that "it is absolutely impossible to change the fundamental points of the initiative, because if this were to happen, it would mean changing the basis for peace itself, and we cannot do this. ... This initiative represents an important step in the direction of restoring order."
Nevertheless, Moussa noted it would be possible to make "textual changes" to the joint diplomatic proposal, the paper added.
Moussa, added the paper, made it clear that Egypt and Jordan had agreed to stand firm on the fundamental principles of the initiative -- the need for an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territory that has been reoccupied, building restrictions on the settlements, the renewal of the peace talks and a promise to implement all agreements.
On Saturday night, Mubarak's political adviser, Osama Al Baz, warned Israel that, if it failed to respond favorably to the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative, it would find itself "isolated," as the diplomatic proposal was based on signed agreements between the two sides.
The Palestinians had the right to oppose the Israeli occupation, Al Baz said.
Meanwhile, Arafat's adviser, Nabil Abu Radina, said Sunday that Israel had submitted 18 reservations about the joint initiative, according to Haaretz – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
