National News

International mediators hand Israelis, palestinians 'road map' to peace

International mediators presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders April 30 with the long-awaited "road map," a blueprint for ending 31 months of violence and establishing a Palestinian state.

The U.S.-backed plan is supported by a global consensus neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians want to rebuff, and comes at a time when U.S. clout in the Middle East is at a high point after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's ouster in Iraq.

It also coincided with the swearing-in of new Palestinian premier Mahmoud Abbas and his Cabinet after being approved by the Palestinian parliament April 29. Abbas has denounced terrorism and said he would end attacks on Israelis.

The three-year outline calls, in the first phase, for a Palestinian crackdown on terror groups and an Israeli freeze on Jewish settlements, combined with a "progressive" Israeli pullout from the autonomous Palestinian zones that its troops reoccupied during the current round of fighting.

A second phase, which could begin as early as the end of the year, would see the creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders. Tough issues like final borders, the conflicting claims to Jerusalem, and what will happen to millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants are left for the last phase.

Both governments say they want to end violence that since September 2000 has killed 2,287 people on the Palestinian side and 763 people on the Israeli side. But past peace plans whether grand end-of-conflict designs or nuts-and-bolts cease-fire efforts have failed, and wrangling over this one has already begun.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon issued a terse statement saying he had received the document "for the purpose of formulating comments on the wording." Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath called for "implementing the road map immediately."

Shukan ST: May 9, 2003

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