Jordan Times
Friday, September 8, 2006
King, D’Alema
back Abbas’ unity efforts
AMMAN — King Abdullah and Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said
Thursday they fully back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his efforts
to create a national unity government that “would lead to the resumption of
peace negotiations with Israel”.
Stressing that Abbas was a peace partner, the King told D’Alema that the
international community should take action in the upcoming months to find
a just and permanent solution for the Palestinian issue — “the core of
conflicts in the Middle East”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The Monarch underlined the need to bring back Israelis and Palestinians
to the negotiating table in order to achieve a comprehensive peaceful
settlement and end violence and instability in the region.
D’Alema, on a regional tour, arrived here earlier Thursday for talks
with the King and Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib on means to end
the impasse in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process as well as developments
in Lebanon.
Arab foreign ministers at a meeting in Cairo called Wednesday for a “new
mechanism” to break the impasse in the peace process and urged the UN Security
Council to meet and discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In remarks to the press following his talks with the King, D’Alema said Jordan
and Italy agreed to support Abbas’ efforts to form a new government that would
enable the Palestinians to emerge from the severe crisis and return to direct
dialogue with the Israelis.
“Of course we are interested in having direct dialogue between both sides,” he said.
During their meeting, the Monarch and the Italian minister agreed that unilateral
moves were no alternatives for comprehensive solutions derived from negotiations.
Both noted that what happened recently in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip illustrated
the failure of unilateral measures.
D’Alema, who met in Ramallah with Abbas, also discussed ways to bolster the ceasefire
in Lebanon, following the Israeli offensive against Hizbollah.
D’Alema welcomed Israel’s lift of the air blockade and expressed hope Israeli authorities
would take a similar step in Gaza, starting by the reopening of the Rafah crossing point.
“This kind of a move will allow for the delivery of the urgently needed aid,” he added.
D’Alema said the King and the government stressed the need for abiding by UN Resolution
1701, which allows for up to 15,000 UN troops to back up some 16,000 Lebanese soldiers
in south Lebanon in order to bolster the achieved truce with Israel and secure the border zone.
“I am convinced that the presence of multinational forces in Lebanon will be able to
present a vital contribution to help the Lebanese government have full control over its
territories and ensure stability,” D’Alema said.
Italian troops were being deployed in south Lebanon as part of the multinational forces.
The Italian government has promised 2,450 troops in total.
D’Alema held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Tel Aviv and was to meet
today with his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni.
He is also scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Tel Aviv before
returning home, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.
Lavrov is also on a regional tour of Lebanon, Syria and Israel, aimed at seeking an
overall solution to the Middle East problems.