Palestine chief praises Mitchell report
Senior Palestine Authority official Nabil Shaath today said a Middle East report submitted by a group headed by former US senator and Northern Ireland peace broker, George Mitchell, was ‘‘a model of courage and wisdom’’.
Speaking ahead of a meeting in Dublin with Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, Dr Shaath said the proposals ‘‘together form a path back to peace.’’
He said if the US supported the report, he believed there would be an opportunity ‘‘to end this confrontation and get back to peace’’.
Dr Shaath, the Palestine Authority’s Minister for Planning and International Co-operation, added: ‘‘We have to pray for peace and not only wish it, but work towards it.
‘‘If we can succeed in getting this report implemented, then we will cut short a lot of the agony that our people and the Israelis have had to suffer because of this latest confrontation.
‘‘We will have to wait and see if the Israelis accept and implement this report but if they do I think we will then have entered a new era.’’
The Mitchell report was welcomed yesterday by the Government who called on both sides involved in the Middle East conflict to move quickly to adopt the measures that had been recommended.
