Mideast - Frattini, Road Map for Peace, No to Israeli Wall

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini opened the Palestinian Donors'Conference at the foreign ministry today appealing to Israel and Palestine to implement the road map to peace and end terrorism.

Around 100 delegates from 14 countries and various international organizations were present at the meeting. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath was also there, while his Israeli counterpart Sylvan Shalom will arrive this evening.

Frattini, who co-chaired the meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, issued a strong appeal to the Palestinians to end terrorism. He called on the Israelis to dismantle illegal settlements and reconsider the route of the "security wall", which he said "could compromise a political solution to the conflict".

Frattini highlighted that security could only be achieved if both sides acted in good faith. The EU, he added, believes that "international monitoring is a unique, essential component of the road map". He recalled that the bloc "plans to play an important role in this context".

The Palestinians have asked for 1.2 billion dollars' aid to deal with the financial crisis. Italy has already earmarked 77 million euros. But the donor nations are calling for greater transparency in how aid is managed and more security for their representatives operating in the occupied territories.

A meeting between the Quartet - Russia, the EU, the UN, and the US - is planned for this evening.

The conference will continue tomorrow with a meeting of the political reform task force.

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• EU and Middle East (16/9/2002)