U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said last night that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to a ceasefire timetable, based on consecutive periods of no-violence. \"We see the continuation of this [process] as follows,\" Powell said. \"Complete and utter cessation of terrorist actions, of violence and of incitement, and as soon as complete quiet exists, there will be seven days of trial or tests in order to see how the Palestinian Authority manages to keep its undertakings. Then a period will start of six weeks, a cooling-down period, and throughout that entire period complete quiet must prevail,\" he said. If these obstacles are overcome, the sides will begin a series of confidence-building measures - mainly a total Jewish construction freeze in Judea and Samaria - that is supposed to lead to a resumption of negotiations.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres may meet today or tomorrow with Arafat at a gathering of the Socialist International in Lisbon. Prime Minister Sharon is not in favor of the meeting, and even vetoed a similar one a few weeks ago, but will not veto it. Former government minister and Oslo architect Yossi Beilin met this week in Ramallah with senior PA leaders. He does not hold any official position, yet the meeting was approved by the Defense Minister\'s Office.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres may meet today or tomorrow with Arafat at a gathering of the Socialist International in Lisbon. Prime Minister Sharon is not in favor of the meeting, and even vetoed a similar one a few weeks ago, but will not veto it. Former government minister and Oslo architect Yossi Beilin met this week in Ramallah with senior PA leaders. He does not hold any official position, yet the meeting was approved by the Defense Minister\'s Office.