Israel and Palestine Pledge Peace
Days after an ecumenical delegation called for immediate and deliberate actions for Mideast peace, the heads of Israel and Palestine ended the longstanding deadlock between the two nations by pledging to stop all military or violent activity
Ending the longstanding deadlock between Israel and Palestine, the heads of the two nations pledged to stop all military or violent activity, during a Mideast summit, Tuesday.
According to an Associated Press report, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared the moratorium on violence and pledged to break the four-year cycle of bloodshed to get peace talks back on track.
"We have agreed on halting all violent actions against Palestinians and Israelis wherever they are," Abbas declared in a statement made after the meetings, held between the two leaders and the heads of Egypt and Jordan.
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"Today, in my meeting with chairman Abbas, we agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and, at the same time, Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere," said Sharon.
The successful meeting comes less than a week after an 11-member delegation from the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) called for a timely action to peace in a statement released on February 4.
“We posed a question to those with whom we met: "Is there a new window of opportunity for peace?" Our conclusion is that a sliver of hope for peace does exist, but we feel strongly the moment must be seized now or the future will remain dim,” the statement, which concluded the delegation’s weeklong trip to the MidEast, read.
The meeting between Palestinian authority Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon in some ways fulfilled the Christian delegation’s call for immediate reconciliation.
“We must all work for a change of heart and a change of mind that leads toward reconciliation and harmony. We confess that the life of every human being is sacred and that the violent death of anyone is tragic,” the NCC delegation had said.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, a key parliamentary committee approved a bill that will allow Sharon to carry out his planned pullout from the Gaza Strip and West Bank in the summer.
If the bill, which passed by a mere 10-9 vote, is applied and the Israeli military force withdraws from the disputed region, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is likely to end its controversial divestment policy on all companies profiting from the Israeli occupation.
The passage of the bill is also an answer to the NCC delegation’s concern over the Palestinian families living in the West Bank.
“Palestinians, like people everywhere, must have freedom of movement. Palestinian land is increasingly being chopped into tiny cantons making the possibility of a sustainable Palestinian state unachievable,” the delegation’s statement read.
Sharon agreed that the Palestinian people must recive the freedom and right to live independently and in dignity.
"I assure you that we have a genuine intention to respect your rights to live independently and in dignity. I have already said that Israel has no desire to continue to govern over you and control your fate,” said Sharon.
According to the Associated Press, after Sharon's declaration of an end to military operations, the two sides would go back to operating as they did before the 2000 outbreak of fighting, and will turn back on track to the proposed road-map to peace.
The Israeli government pledged to free 900 of the 8,000 Palestinian prisoners and gradually put out of five Palestinian towns in the West Bank. Abbas meanwhile has deployed police to keep peace in Gaza and have won pledges from militants to halt attacks on its neighbor state.
