TEL AVIV, Jan 1: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has rejected a proposal for President Moshe Katzav to appear before the Palestinian parliament with a ceasefire offer, a senior source in Sharon’s office said on Tuesday.

Sharon has told Katzav of his opposition and considers it “the end of the whole story”, the source said.

Katzav confirmed on Monday a report that he had been approached by a former Arab member of Israel’s parliament, Abed al-Wahhab Darawsheh, about addressing the Palestinian legislature in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The president, who holds a largely ceremonial post, said the proposal was “interesting” and that he viewed positively any move that brings about a “ceasefire for an extended period of time without being tied to a political concession.”—Reuters