Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

Abed Rabbo, Beilin Meet PM Blair in London

Geneva Initiative
October 7, 2004

British Prime Minister Tony Bair reiterated the stand of his government insisting that any Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip should be part of a comprehensive settlement and not just an isolated move by Israel or an alternative to such a comprehensive settlement.

During a meeting at his office on Saturday with authors of the Geneva Initiative, PLO Executive Committee Member and head of the Palestinian Peace Coalition Yasser Abed Rabbo and his Israeli counterpart Yossi Beilin, head of Yahad party, Blair said that his government wants to see an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on a durable and just peace and said his government would continue its constructive role in order to move towards a peaceful settlement that guarantees the creation of an independent Palestinian state along the lines of 1967.

Abed Rabbo and Beilin said they were convinced an international supervision should be present, especially by the Quartet, and the regional forces directly involved in the conflict, mainly Egypt, in order to stop the current deterioration in the region and to stop the continued vicious circle of killing, violence and destruction. They both said that the repercussions the Separation Wall leaves on the peace process should be weighted as it disrupts all moves to revive the final status talks between the leaderships of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. In reference to Sharon’s plan for a unilateral disengagement in Gaza, both Abed Rabbo and Beilin said that partial steps cannot be an alternative to a negotiated and agreed upon arrangement and settlement between the two parties.