Confusion over 'truce plan'
2009-01-07 18:04
Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy
said on Wednesday Israel had accepted an Egyptian truce plan for
Gaza, but his office later said he was simply welcoming Israel's
previously announced reaction to the proposal.
Egypt said on Tuesday it was proposing an immediate truce
between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, to be followed by
talks on long-term border arrangements and an end to the Israeli
blockade of Gaza.
Israel said it viewed talks on the proposal "positively", but
stopped short of accepting Egypt's plan.
"The president is delighted by the acceptance by Israel and
the Palestinian Authority of the Franco-Egyptian plan presented
last night in Sharm el-Sheikh by [Egyptian] President [Hosni]
Mubarak," Sarkozy's office said in a statement.
"The head of state calls for this plan to be implemented as
quickly as possible for the suffering of the population to
stop," it added.
The statement's use of the term "acceptance" prompted Israel
to say it had not accepted the Egyptian plan and it was still in
talks on the proposal.
An official in Sarkozy's office said later that the French
statement was merely a reaction to Israel's earlier positive
comments about the plan and that it was not announcing Israel's
acceptance of the Egyptian proposal.
"It is a reaction to the statements by Israel and the
Palestinians," the official said.
- Reuters