The four leaders, who met in Sharm A-Sheikh yesterday, agreed on "the need to break the current freeze in the peace process" and to move forward with it in addition to supporting the Palestinian legitimacy, the PNA and president "Abu Mazen" and the unity of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza strip in addition to the necessity of containing the humanitarian ramifications of the latest developments on the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza strip. This was declared by President Housni Mubarak in his speech before the Quartet summit. He said that a joint position is required in order to stop the bloodshed of Palestinians and Israelis and for ending violence at the two sides and to prepare the climates in order to go back to the negotiations table and a clear political horizon that deals with the final status issues, away from unilateral measures and interim solutions to achieve a just and sustainable peace based on the power of right and the principles of the international legitimacy in order to fulfill the aspiration of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state… a Palestinian and Israeli peace that opens the door before a comprehensive peace on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and allows new horizons to deal with the rest of crisis and tensions in the Middle East.

A noticeable element in the Egyptian president's speech was his stress on the importance of the internal Palestinian dialogue saying:" I stressed on the return to dialogue between the children of Palestine and reaching a joint stance so that they can speak on behalf of their people and cause over the necessity of a situation that bears no postponement and a joint stance that halts the blood shed of the Palestinians and the Israelis and ends violence on the Palestinian side".

The Jordanian king said in his speech that the meeting is held under delicate regional circumstances that the Middle East is living in and in light of an enormous plight that the Palestinian people are living in. He also said that the last dangerous events that occurred in Gaza strip must be an incentive to all of us to move forward in the right path for our people. It is the path of security and peace based on the necessity of returning the rights that are guaranteed by the decisions of the international legitimacy for the Palestinian people and which their core is based on the two-state solution, a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza strip living in security and peace side by side the state of Israel.

The Israeli PM, Ehud Olmert, pledged before president Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen" to deal with the West Bank and Gaza strip as one entity and continuing to supply Gaza strip with nutrition, medicines, electricity, water and fuel, and to solve the issue of fugitives and deportees, and to turn the West Back areas back to the situation before the 28th of September 2000, meaning turning them to "A" and "B" areas. A joint committee that has been agreed upon will start working soon to implement these affairs. In the bilateral meeting between president Abbas and the Israeli PM, at the margin of the Quartet summit, they discussed the resumption of the political negotiations on the final status issues. The issue of releasing prisoners was strongly present during these talks, since Olmert declared on his decision to release 250 Palestinian prisoners soon. Olmert declared also on other steps including the release of Palestinian funds, the resumption of regular transfer of funds to the Palestinian government and the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli security and economic cooperation, in addition to easing up the restrictions imposed on the freedom of the Palestinians` movement. He pointed at that he will hold at least one meeting each two weeks with president Abbas in order to discuss the political horizon.

Published at Al Quds and Al Ayyam NewsPapers on June 26, 2007