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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: March 17, 2005 |
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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday welcomed the open-ended truce declaration made by Palestinian terror groups in Egypt as a positive first step, but said progress in Mideast peace making would require the groups to disarm.
A statement from Sharon's office said he made the remarks to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who called the Sharon to fill him in on the talks among the Palestinian factions.
"Prime Minister Sharon thanked Mubarak for the update and said that the arrangement achieved in Cairo is a positive first step," the statement said.
"At the same time the prime minister emphasized that this is only an interim step, and in order for there to be progress in peace efforts, terrorist organizations cannot continue to exist as armed groups, and certainly not as terror organizations," it added.
The internationally backed "road map" peace plan calls on the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Under Thursday's Cairo declaration, the groups agreed to suspend attacks on Israelis through the end of the year but made no commitment to lay down their weapons.
Israeli officials have pledged to refrain from military activity against Palestinians if there are no attacks on Israeli targets.
The road map also requires Israel to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank and remove unauthorized settlement outposts -- steps that Sharon so far has failed to carry out.
The AP contributed to this report. |
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