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TEL AVIV, Feb 21: The Palestinian leadership called for a one-year “demilitarization” of the uprising on Friday, while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon continued to try to woo his left-wing rival into a national unity coalition.
Two Palestinians were also shot dead in the Gaza Strip in fresh violence which capped a week of bloodshed during which 34 Palestinians and four Israelis were killed.
Palestine Liberation Organization number two Mahmud Abbas, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, said after meeting in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov that “the Palestinian leadership has decided to demilitarize the intifada for one year”.
He stopped short of clearly calling for an end to the armed struggle against Israeli occupation. But his wording implied an end to attacks not only against civilians inside Israel but also Jewish settlers and soldiers, going further than past calls by the Palestinian leadership.
Radical groups, including an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah, have repeatedly rejected truce calls from the leadership, but Israel has recently turned up the heat on hardliners.
The Israeli army has been pounding the powerful Hamas group in its Gaza bastion and the daily Haaretz reported on Friday that Israel would declare allout war on the group if it did not abide by a truce reportedly presented at recent intra-Palestinian talks in Cairo.
Abu Mazen, a likely candidate for the newly-created position of Palestinian prime minister, said the truce could be a step towards implementation of a peace roadmap — drawn up by the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia — which calls for a Palestinian state by 2005.
GOVT FORMATION: Israeli premier Ariel Sharon met opposition leader Amram Mitzna for the third time on Friday in a last-ditch bid to convince him to join a national unity government. Mitzna has consistently refused to compromise his dovish platform by entering a coalition with the hawkish Sharon.
The premier’s office said the talks lasted two hours and would resume after Shabbat on Saturday night, but commentators were pessimistic about the talks.
Another, less attractive, option emerged for Sharon as public radio reported that his right-wing Likud party had brokered a coalition agreement between the secular Shinui and the National Religious Party.
The deal would involve a significant secularisation of Israel but would only give Sharon a tenuous majority in parliament.
VIOLENCE: Violence continued in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
Israeli military sources said the army killed a Palestinian who attempted to enter the northern Jewish settlement of Dugit.
A few hours later, another Palestinian was shot dead by border guards at the Erez crossing point, also in the north, after attacking the post with hand grenades and an assault rifle.
A member of the Palestinian preventative security was lightly wounded by Israeli fire east of Gaza City as he patrolled the area to prevent Hamas from firing home-made Qassam rockets at Israel, Palestinian security sources said.
The incident came a day after the Palestinians said they would do their best to prevent Qassam rockets from being fired and two days after a deadly army raid aimed at destroying the workshops where they are allegedly made.—AFP
