British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Israel today. Although he was reportedly scheduled to present to Prime Minister Sharon and Foreign Minister Peres a new plan for a ceasefire, he was evasive when asked if he actually did so. In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sharon, Blair repeated what he said yesterday during a similar press conference with Syrian President Assad: \"We have to get the process begun again, based on two fixed points of principle: The first is that Israel must exist as a state, confident in its own security. The second is that the Palestinian people should be able to live in *their* state, according to the principles of justice and equity.\" He emphasized the need to be rid of \"this cycle of violence\" in order to reach the above goals, and did not condemn Israel\'s recently-intensified \"liquidation\" policy.
Prime Minister Sharon spoke of his desire to conduct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, but said that nothing would come before the need to protect the safety of Israeli citizens. He mentioned this morning\'s thwarting of an impending attack that could have cost \"tens of lives,\" and said that Israel would not have had to take this action had Arafat arrested the terrorists. Sharon also noted that had the attack succeeded, that in itself would have prevented the resumption of negotiations.
Sharon announced at the press conference that he would establish a negotiating forum, headed by him and Foreign Minister Peres, which would attempt to reach a ceasefire with the Palestinians and would then strive for a diplomatic agreement - \"all this, on condition that the terrorism stops totally.\" He said that his demand for \"no terrorism\" before Israel leaves all the PA-controlled areas is not too much to ask of Arafat: \"Look, in Hevron it\'s quiet, and in Beit Jala it\'s quiet, and in Jericho and Bethlehem also. When he wants to, he can get quiet.\"
Other meetings:
* Blair left Jerusalem for Gaza, where he met with Yasser Arafat.
* The British leader was in Syria yesterday, where he suffered what BBC called a \"brush-off, to be polite\" from Syrian President Assad. Assad, at a joint press conference with Blair, condemned the bombing of Afghanistan, and called Israel\'s policy \"terrorist.\"
* Peres met yesterday with visiting Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley.
* Later today, Prime Minister Sharon met with the families of kidnapped soldiers Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Souad. The families object to the army\'s desire to declare their sons dead, saying that the information presently available is not conclusive.
* Earlier in the day, Blair, too, met with the families. They asked that Arab members of the United States-led coalition against terrorism be required to provide information on the fate of their sons.
Prime Minister Sharon spoke of his desire to conduct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, but said that nothing would come before the need to protect the safety of Israeli citizens. He mentioned this morning\'s thwarting of an impending attack that could have cost \"tens of lives,\" and said that Israel would not have had to take this action had Arafat arrested the terrorists. Sharon also noted that had the attack succeeded, that in itself would have prevented the resumption of negotiations.
Sharon announced at the press conference that he would establish a negotiating forum, headed by him and Foreign Minister Peres, which would attempt to reach a ceasefire with the Palestinians and would then strive for a diplomatic agreement - \"all this, on condition that the terrorism stops totally.\" He said that his demand for \"no terrorism\" before Israel leaves all the PA-controlled areas is not too much to ask of Arafat: \"Look, in Hevron it\'s quiet, and in Beit Jala it\'s quiet, and in Jericho and Bethlehem also. When he wants to, he can get quiet.\"
Other meetings:
* Blair left Jerusalem for Gaza, where he met with Yasser Arafat.
* The British leader was in Syria yesterday, where he suffered what BBC called a \"brush-off, to be polite\" from Syrian President Assad. Assad, at a joint press conference with Blair, condemned the bombing of Afghanistan, and called Israel\'s policy \"terrorist.\"
* Peres met yesterday with visiting Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley.
* Later today, Prime Minister Sharon met with the families of kidnapped soldiers Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Souad. The families object to the army\'s desire to declare their sons dead, saying that the information presently available is not conclusive.
* Earlier in the day, Blair, too, met with the families. They asked that Arab members of the United States-led coalition against terrorism be required to provide information on the fate of their sons.