Palestinians, Egyptians See Eye-to-Eye on ‘Roadmap

Palestinians, Egyptians See Eye-to-Eye on ‘Roadmap’: Erakat

President Yasser Arafat briefed President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt on the developments in occupied Palestinian territories after a meeting in Ramallah Tuesday with Mubarak’s envoy Omar Sulaiman, which discussed ways of reinforcing Palestinian – Egyptian coordination towards the implementation of the US-sponsored “roadmap” peace plan.

Arafat in a telephone call to Mubarak thanked the Egyptian President for Cairo’s unrelenting efforts in supporting the truce with the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), unifying Palestinian ranks and making progress in the implementation of “roadmap.”

Sulaiman delivered a message to Arafat from Mubarak, the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam reported.

Earlier on Tuesday Arafat and the Palestine National Authority (PNA) Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) held a meeting with the Egyptian intelligence chief minister Sulaiman in Ramallah.

Both sides stressed the need for “a comprehensive plan for the implementation of the roadmap, which comprises a stop to (Israeli) settlement activities, (re) opening Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, lifting of the (IOF) siege, release of detainees, and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state” as a one integrated whole, Palestinian MP and former chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said.

Palestinians and Egyptians also stressed the need for the IOF “withdrawal to the lines of pre-September 28, 2000,” AFP quoted Erakat as saying.

“Palestinian and Egyptian positions on these issues are identical,” Erakat said.

The Egyptian minister Omar Sulaiman confirmed that his country “will exert intensified efforts with the United States, the Quartet (of US, UN, EU and Russia), Israel and other concerned parties to implement the roadmap as one integral piece,” he added.

The meeting stressed the “Palestinian – Israeli negotiations must lead to the Israeli withdrawal to the lines of 4 June 1967 and to the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Erakat indicated.

Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Ahmad Qurei, member of the PLO executive committee Ghassan El-Shaka’a, PNA Minister of Finanace Salam Fayyadh, Erakat, member of Fatah central committee Sakhre Habash, Arafat’s political adviser and editor of the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam Akram Hanniyah, and public security chief in Gaza Strip Abdul-Razeq el-Majaidah attended the meeting, the official news agency WAFA reported Tuesday.

Arafat told reporters after the meeting: “We confirm our commitment to the implementation of the roadmap.”

Sulaiman on his part made no statements after the meeting.

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