MIDDLE EAST: ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN CABINET MEETINGS ON LATEST VIOLENCE / FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN MILITANT SHOT DEAD BY ISRAELI TROOPS.

Record ID: 400566

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN CABINET MEETINGS ON LATEST VIOLENCE / FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN MILITANT SHOT DEAD BY ISRAELI TROOPS.
  • Date: 14th June 2003
  • Summary: (W3) JERUSALEM (JUNE 15, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. TRACK: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON ARRIVING AT CABINET MEETING. 0.07 2. TRACK: ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SILVAN SHALOM ARRIVING AT CABINET MEETING. 0.10 3. MV: SHARON AND MINISTERS AT MEETING ZOOM IN/SCU: SHARON. 0.26 4. : VARIOUS OF MEETING. 0.30 (W4) JERUSAL
  • Embargoed: 29th June 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM/ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/ GAZA
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA4RSSI099ZDAZ07BJ9PGE109NO
  • Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has held his weekly
    cabinet meeting during which he briefed his ministers on the
    latest upsurge of violence in the region. Israeli Foreign
    Minister, Silvan Shalom, has said that Israel expects the
    Palestinians to curb the violence and stop attacks against
    Israel so that the parties can continue with the U.S.-led Road
    Map.



    Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met his cabinet
    members on Sunday (June 15), hours after Israeli soldiers shot
    and killed a Palestinian militant in a Gaza Strip gunbattle.

    Top Palestinian and Israeli security officials met late on
    Saturday (June 14) to discuss a possible Israeli troop
    pullback from northern Gaza in exchange for a Palestinian
    crackdown on militants ahead of the arrival of a veteran U.S.

    diplomat.

    But there was no sign of a breakthrough after the meeting,
    which raised the possibility of an Israeli pullback in the
    northern Gaza Strip in exchange for a pledge by the
    Palestinian Authority to crack down on militants in the area.

    Palestinian Minister of Cabinet affairs Yasser Abed Rabbo
    said: "Yesterday's meeting did not yield any tangible
    results."
    Concerned about the future of the Middle East peace "road
    map," amid growing violence, U.S. President George W. Bush
    sent John Wolf to the region to meet with Palestinian and
    Israeli leaders in coming days in an attempt to keep the plan
    alive.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called on the
    Palestinian authorities to take immediate action against
    militant Palestinian groups:
    "We are asking the Palestinians to take an immediate action
    against those organisations in order to dismantle the
    infrastructure. We think now that it is very important that we
    will continue to implement the peace process and its up to
    them to decide if they are willing to make a decision that
    some say that up until now they didn't take."
    Just hours after Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan
    met Israeli Major General Amos Gilad late Saturday, an Israeli
    force shot and killed a member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a
    group affiliated to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's
    Fatah movement, in a shootout in northern Gaza, Palestinian
    medics and the army said.

    They said four other Palestinians were injured in the
    clash.

    Thousands of Palestinian mourners took to the streets of
    Gaza Sunday morning (June 15) for the funeral of the
    Palestinian militant.

    Israeli security forces where in a state of heightened
    alert in Jerusalem and around the country, after the Islamic
    militant group Hamas promised more suicide attacks against
    Israel in the coming days.

    A Hamas suicide bomb killed 17 people and injured at latest
    100 others last week.

    Egyptian security officials planned to visit Gaza on Sunday
    to try to coax Hamas into resuming talks with the Palestinian
    Authority, security sources said.

    U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to meet other
    members of the so-called "Quartet" of mediators -- the United
    Nations, European Union and Russia -- in Jordan on June 22.

    The escalation in Mideast violence including Israeli
    military strikes has many Palestinians in Gaza on edge these
    days. Some seek relief at the beach. On Sunday afternoon,
    thousands of Palestinians gathered to enjoy the sun and water.

    Despite many smiles, the breakdown of the so-called "Road
    Map" is on the forefront of nearly everyone's mind.

    Many Palestinians blame the breakdown on Israeli missile
    strikes last week. Many on the beach said that they will carry
    on with daily life despite the conflict.

    "Life is unbearable but we are used to it. We are use to
    Israeli attacks. We just look to ways to enjoy ourselves,"
    said Maher Jamal Sa while standing on the beach.



  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register