Palestine calls for urgent Middle East 'quartet' meeting

The leadership of Palestine deems it necessary that a session of the Middle East 'quartet' of international intermediaries be urgently called for clearing out the US stance towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as well as for censuring Israeli position which "runs counter to the international law," says the Statement of the Palestinian leadership, which was adopted on Monday after its meeting in Ramallah with the participation of Yasser Arafat, the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The Statement says that the events which are taking place now at the Palestinian Territories are a violation of the international agreements on the Palestinian problem and run counter to both the international law and the accords reached between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

The statement points out that Yasser Arafat has forwarded a message to the UN Secretary General and the leaders of the USA, the European Union, Russia and China in which he confirms that the PLO is coming out for the resolution of the Palestinian problem on the basis of the corresponding resolutions of the UN Security Council and the decisions of the Madrid peace conference.

The Palestinian leadership stressed that, in their opinion, the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from the Gaza strip should be real rather than formal and be accompanied by simultaneous pullout from the West Bank of the Jordan river and be a part of the "road map" plan rather than its substitute.

The leadership of Palestine stressed in its Statement the need for consolidating the national unity of the Palestinians and the continuation of the inter-Palestinian dialogue.

The Palestinian leaders also censured the continuation by Israel of the policy of murders and destruction on the Palestinian territories, emphasizing that these actions aggravate tensions in the region and kill all hopes for the resumption of the peace process.