Global perspective Human stories

UN envoy says Arafat's Sunday speech marks potential turning point

UN envoy says Arafat's Sunday speech marks potential turning point

Calling the Sunday televised address by Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat "historic," the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has urged senior Palestinian and Israeli officials to take further steps to ease tension in the region.

Mr. Arafat's speech marked "a potential turning point in the search for an end to the violence," Special Coordinator Terje Roed-Larsen said in a statement released in Gaza on Monday. The envoy, who met with Mr. Arafat on Sunday night, noted that the speech had been accompanied by "significant" Palestinian steps on the ground.

During their meeting, Mr. Roed-Larsen told President Arafat that the Palestinian Authority must deepen its efforts to control violence emanating from its territory. The UN envoy added that while the speech might likely be criticized by some Palestinian groups, it should be understood that suicide operations, mortars and other attacks gravely weakened international efforts to restore a processes leading to a viable, independent Palestinian State.

In a subsequent meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Mr. Roed-Larsen emphasized that Israel must recognize that the speech had opened a potential opportunity and that it must respond accordingly.

The envoy also said that the international community stood by the demands made of Israel in a joint statement issued on 26 October by the UN, the European Union, the United States and the Russian Federation. Among other measures, that statement had called for Israel to halt extra-judicial killings, ensure greater restraint by its defence forces, fully respect the ceasefire and move swiftly to ease closures.

The Special Coordinator stressed that urgent efforts were needed by all parties to take advantage of Mr. Arafat's speech and recent security efforts. "Violence achieves nothing for either side," he said. "Violence will not bring an end to the occupation. Violence will not bring security for Israelis or Palestinians, and violence cannot bring peace." In that connection, he said further extra-judicial killings at the current sensitive juncture - when the Palestinians were making "a genuine effort to calm things down" - would not be conducive to the process.