JAPAN: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators urge the world to keep supporting peace process despite financial crisis
Record ID:
463520
JAPAN: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators urge the world to keep supporting peace process despite financial crisis
- Title: JAPAN: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators urge the world to keep supporting peace process despite financial crisis
- Date: 24th October 2008
- Summary: (MER1) TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 23, 2008) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM REPORTERS TAKING NOTES ISRAELI MINISTER OF INTERIOR MEIR SHEETRIT AND PALESTINIAN PEACE NEGOTIATOR SAEB EREKAT SITTING AT TABLE JAPANESE AUDIENCE AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI MINISTER OF INTERIOR MEIR SHEETRIT SAYING: "No crisis should influence the efforts to achieve peace. The damage that would happen without peace, the influence of such a damage is much more higher and bigger than whatever any financial crisis can cause to the area. I am speaking about Israel and Palestine." REPORTERS AND AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PALESTINIAN PEACE NEGOTIATOR SAEB EREKAT SAYING: "We depend a lot on the generous contributions for the donor community the United States, Europe and others and we hope that this assistance given to the Palestinians for their infrastructure development and institution development, security reforms, will not be affected by the impact of the crisis on countries like Japan, Europe, Europeans, Americans and so on. We really urge all those nations to stay the course with us." EREKAT AND SHEETRIT RECEIVING GIFTS FROM THE HOSTS OF THE NEWS CONFERENCE SHEETRIT AND EREKAT SHAKING HANDS GUESTS LEAVING CONFERENCE ROOM
- Embargoed: 8th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA7DGKG8P2TR1MRT85LCT7IMSJN
- Story Text: Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators vow not to let the financial crisis affect the Middle East peace negotiations, urge the West to stay on the course.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Thursday (October 23) urged the West to keep supporting the Middle East peace process and not let it be overshadowed by the global financial crisis.
Israel's Minister of Interior, Meir Sheetrit and Palestinian peace negotiator, Saeb Erekat are in Tokyo for a bridge building conference.
"No crisis should influence the efforts to achieve peace. The damage that would happen without peace, the influence of such a damage is much more higher and bigger than whatever any financial crisis can cause to the area. I am speaking about Israel and Palestine," Israeli minister Sheetrit told reporters at a news conference.
Erekat urged donor nations to keep delivering funds for the benefit of Palestinian development.
"We depend a lot on the generous contributions from the donor community in the United States, Europe and others and we hope that this assistance given to the Palestinians for their infrastructure development and institution development, security reforms, will not be affected by the impact of the crisis on countries like Japan, Europe, Europeans, Americans and so on.
We really urge all those nations to stay the course with us," Palestinian negotiator Erekat said.
Many of the non-regional participants of the Middle Eastern peace process are currently caught up in the global financial crisis.
Governments have thrown hundreds of billions of dollars at the financial crisis to try to prevent a global recession, help thaw frozen credit markets and calm jittery stock markets that have swung wildly in recent weeks.
There is concern that the money will be spent at the expense of investments and aid to developing nations and regions.
The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority relies on foreign financial support for salary payments and civil and security institution building.
Last month the Palestinian government received pledges of nearly 300 million U.S. Dollars (USD) in new aid on top of 7.7 billion USD promised at a Paris conference last December. Donors pledged to deliver the aid over the next three years, but the Palestinians say only a fraction of that money has been paid.
European officials said that Israel's checkpoints in the West Bank and blockade of Gaza are preventing an economic recovery there and limiting the impact of international aid.
U.S. President George W. Bush will host world leaders on November 15 to discuss the financial crisis and brainstorm on how to prevent another meltdown, the White House said on Wednesday (October 22). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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