The Palestinian Authority said late Tuesday that the results obtained from the Sharm el-Sheikh summit formed a "basis" on which an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement could be built.
"The results reached by the Sharm el-Sheikh summit do not correspond completely with the aspirations of our Palestinian and Arab people but are the basis on which one can build (...) on condition that there is a genuine desire for peace (by Israel)," it said in a statement published by the official WAFA news agency.
"Israel's commitment to end the blockade (of the Palestinian territories), to withdraw its troops and to accept the setting up of an international inquiry are real signs of a desire for peace" by the Israelis, it said.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was less positive, with its political department head, Faruq Qaddumi, declaring in Cairo: "the Sharm el-Sheikh summit was routine business which did not lead to any worthwhile result."
Qaddumi, who is to take part in a preparatory meeting for an Arab League summit on Saturday and Sunday, said the Arab leaders were ready to take "decisive action" against Israel
He suggested: "there must be an economic and political boycott of Israel and UN sanctions like the ones against the former racist South Africa regime."
The Sharm el-Sheikh summit, attended by US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat among others, wound up Tuesday with an accord for an end to Israeli-Palestinian violence, the setting up of an "information mission" on the clashes and a resumption of the peace process.
The Palestinian Authority denied the existence of a secret agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians on security issues which a senior Israeli official said had been reached at the summit – GAZA CITY (AFP)
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