French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sunday
called on Israel to withdraw from Gaza, a day after it issued a unilateral
truce which took effect early Sunday, dpa
reported.
"There is no need to stay in Gaza. It will offer nothing for Israel's
security but will shake the power of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas,"
Sarkozy told world leaders who are meeting in the Egyptian resort town of
Sharm-al-Sheikh to discuss means of establishing a lasting peace in Gaza.
Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Sarkozy were jointly chairing Sunday's
summit.
Sarkozy extended support to the Palestinian President who was also attending
the summit.
"We fully support the Palestinian president because he backs peace. There
will be no future [for Israel] unless there is a Palestinian democratic state
that backs peace," Sarkozy said.
"There will be no peace if Israel stays in Gaza," Sarkozy added.
The summit included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Jordan's King Abdullah II,
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, and Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
The summit coincided with the announcement by Palestinian militant factions in
the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, that they have agreed to a ceasefire with Israel,but gave the Jewish state one week to withdraw its forces from the salient.
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