Germany's Fischer to Push for Middle East Truce, as Intifadha Confrontations Rage on

12/04/2001| IslamWeb

JERUSALEM, (Islamweb & News Agencies) - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer plays mediator in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Tuesday aimed at fostering a cease-fire after almost 11 months of brutal Israeli reaction to a Palestinian uprising against occupation. He meets Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah in the morning and will have talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem later. (Read photo caption below)


It was not clear whether Fischer would present Arafat with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres's latest proposals for kick-starting an internationally backed truce-to-talks blueprint that has never taken effect. Fischer and Peres declined to discuss the proposals at a joint news conference in Tel Aviv Monday, but Israeli media reports say Peres is pushing for a cease-fire that would come into force in stages.
Under the reported plan, a truce would be implemented in areas where there is little intifadha confrontations, while hotspots of Israeli-Palestinian confrontations would be left until last.
``We are very interested in the new ideas of Foreign Minister Peres. We think this is a situation where we need creative new ideas,'' Fischer said, adding that unless the sides overcame their differences, ``we will see further tragedies.''
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed concern during an official visit to Oslo, the Norwegian city that gave birth to interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals, that the fighting could engulf the entire Middle East if it is not stopped.
``It is dangerous, it is raising tensions in the region and if we do not take concrete steps to contain it, it may spread to other parts of the region and beyond,'' he said.
FISCHER PLAYS ROLE IN MIDEAST CONFLICT
Fischer was in Israel in June when 21 people were killed in a Resistance bombing by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance group Hamas at a Tel Aviv discotheque and he helped secure a U.S.-backed truce that never took hold.
His role after the June bombing won him the respect of the Jewish state, which has traditionally been wary of the involvement of European Union countries in the conflict.
Fischer, who arrived Monday on a three-day visit, said the sides should use the recommendations of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell's committee into the confrontations as a means to end the the uprising.
Israel generally prefers for its main ally, the United States, to take a front seat in mediation efforts.
INTIFADHA CONFRONTATIONS RAGE ON
Gunshots echoed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip late on Monday. Palestinian Resistance men responded to provokation by Israeli occupation soldiers in at least half a dozen places.
Palestinian security officials said one of the confrontations erupted after Israeli armored vehicles approached a Palestinian-ruled area in southern Gaza.
Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli gunfire wounded seven Palestinians in another incident nearby.
PHOTO CAPTION:
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer pauses during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, Aug. 20, 2001. Fischer began a three-day visit to the Mideast on Monday that comes as part of efforts to end months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)