France sparks confusion on Gaza ceasefire plan as talks underway
Güncelleme Tarihi:
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.(UPDATED)
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 was quoted as saying by Reuters. 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.
Israel said it welcomes the initiative and wants to see it succeed. "The talks continue on the basis of that initiative. A sustainable calm in the south will be based upon the total absence of hostile fire from
Â
A Hamas official in the Gaza Strip also said that the Egyptian proposal was "still under discussion".Â
Â
Â
The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire for a specific period to allow aid into
Â
Under the Franco-Egyptian plan, European or other observers could be sent to control the border, officials have said.
THREE POINTS
Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak said Tuesday the plan consisted of three points:
1)
2)
Such a deal would include "securing the borders", meaning preventing the smuggling of arms through tunnels from
Â
In return,
An official from Mr Sarkozy's office said that an agreement on securing borders could be reached within "four to five" days, with a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip "within eight days".
3)