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The Middle East quartet - the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union (EU) - on Friday called for an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians.
The appeal came after the quartet representatives held a one-day meeting to discuss a "road map" peace plan designed to put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Specifically, the quartet calls for an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire. All Palestinian individuals and groups must end all acts of terror against Israelis, in any location," the participants said in a statement issued after the meeting.
The quartet urged Israel to withdraw its forces from Palestinian areas and restore the situation on the ground to what had been before Sep. 28, 2000, when the bloody conflict broke out between the two sides.
Expressing concern at the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gazaand the West Bank, the quartet called on Israel to make increased efforts to ease the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian areas and take steps to improve the lives of Palestinians.
It said Israel should also avoid actions that undermined trust and created further hardship for innocent Palestinian civilians, including the demolition of houses and civil infrastructure.
The "road map" peace plan, developed on the basis of US President George W. Bush's peace proposal put forward in June, calls for the establishment of a provisional Palestinian state by 2003 and a permanent one by 2005.
The quartet ministerial meeting, which was originally scheduledto adopt the plan, failed to unveil the much-awaited "road map" because the United States has insisted that it would be better considered after Israel's Jan. 28 election.
Participants at the quartet gathering included US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, whose country now holds the rotating EU presidency, European Union Foreign and Security Policy Representative Javier Solana, and European Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten.
President Bush also met the quartet members at the White House.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2002)
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