Sharon, Abbas declare truce at Mideast summit

[cal04]

Leaders pledge to end violence, enter new era of peace talks
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared Tuesday they would stop all military or violent activity against each other, pledging to break the four-year cycle of violence and get peace talks back on track.

With their flags whipping in the wind, Sharon and Abbas met face-to-face at a Mideast summit Tuesday. Afterward, Abbas said: “We have agreed on halting all violent actions against Palestinians and Israelis wherever they are.”

Sharon made a similar pledge: “Today, in my meeting with chairman Abbas, we agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and, at the same time, Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6906348/

[quiet.american]

1. Good news for the world, bad news for the "rapture-ists."

Interesting timing, too.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. It's a wonderful agreement that I hope is not easily shattered.

Each side must express some patience and understanding. Israel must understand that the Palestinian people are not spoken for and, without adequate resources, cannot control every single terrorist lurking in the country. And Palestine must understand that some reasonable action must be taken by Israel for security purposes.