BERLIN - Germany has won broad American and European Union backing for a Middle East peace initiative as United States Secretary of State Colin Powell tries to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The plan envisions a peace conference overseen by the US, EU, Russia and the United Nations and foresees international forces, civilian or military, overseeing a ceasefire.
It calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories to the pre-1967 borders over two years, the entire process to be accompanied by international guarantees.
The issues of the status of Jerusalem, Israel's borders and the return of Palestinian refugees would be tackled head on, rather than left to the end of the process as happened under the failed Oslo peace plan.
It envisions the proclamation of a state of Palestine and the reciprocal recognition by the Palestinians and Israelis of their right to exist.
Germany has worked closely with Washington, London and Paris about the new initiative.
The hope is that the close involvement of the US would drive the plan forward, much as American involvement in Northern Ireland's peace process helped keep it on the tracks despite terrorist efforts to derail it.
This was one of the key messages British Prime Minister Tony Blair brought to President George W. Bush last weekend in Texas.
The EU's 15 foreign ministers are expected to formally endorse the plan when they meet next week in Luxembourg.
Germany's Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, will present the plan to Powell in Madrid today, before the US diplomat meets the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.
The details of the German plan emerged as Israeli officials declared they were preparing to give up on the 10-year-old peace process and declare "peace" on its own terms if the latest US mediation effort fails.
They said this could entail a withdrawal largely behind the 1967 border, and the building of a protective wall or fence around much of Israeli territory.
- INDEPENDENT
Feature: Middle East
Map
History of conflict
UN: Information on the Question of Palestine
Israel's Permanent Mission to the UN
Palestine's Permanent Observer Mission to the UN
Middle East Daily
Arabic News
Arabic Media Internet Network
Jerusalem Post
US Department of State - Middle East Peace Process
Berlin's Mideast initiative backed
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