Qorei wants action, not words

2003-11-24 11:50

Ramallah, West Bank - Unilateral measures being considered by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to kick-start the peace process must be tangible and no mere public relations exercise, Palestininian premier Ahmed Qorei told reporters on Monday.

"We hope that there will be serious and tangible steps, steps that will have a positive impact on the peace process and the whole situation and that it will not be mere public relations," he said in an interview.

Sharon told his weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that he "does not rule out unilateral steps" in response to reports which said he was considering measures such as the dismantling of isolated settlements.

Qorei said that he wanted the Israelis to immediately halt construction of a controversial separation barrier in the West Bank and stop all settlement activity.

"First, they must stop completely the building of the wall and destroy every millimetre which has been built on Palestinian land," he said.

Prefer no wall at all

"If he (Sharon) wants to build it on Israeli land this is something we cannot do anything about but we would prefer that there was no wall at all.

"Second, they must stop all settlement activity and evacuate all these settlement outposts, which was agreed upon in the roadmap, and to stop the process of isolating of Jerusalem. We will not allow Jerusalem to be isolated from its Arab and Palestinian surroundings."

In a keynote speech last week, US President George W Bush said that Israel must "not prejudice final negotiations with the placement of walls and fences" and also called on Israel to "freeze settlement construction, dismantle unauthorised outposts and end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people."

- AFP