GIRONA, Spain (Reuters) - Spain, France and Italy agreed on Thursday to work on a joint plan to try to resolve the Middle East conflict, calling for a total ceasefire and suggesting they could send truce monitors to the area.
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Zapatero said they wanted to bring their proposal to an EU summit in December, adding that the three countries would work closely with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"Observation forces" could be sent to monitor any truce, he said.
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The Spanish prime minister said the first step would be an end to "all violence," which is also the Quartet's primary goal.
"First we need an immediate end to all forms of violence, including terrorism, and then for a national unity government to be formed in Palestine that will be recognized by the rest of the world," Zapatero said after meeting Chirac.
He also said Israel and the Palestinians should hand over each others' prisoners and open up a political dialogue.
Not surprisingly, the Israeli government swiftly rejected the idea while the Palestinian Authority welcomed it.
He [Zapatero] said it had five components: an immediate cease-fire, formation of a national unity government by the Palestinians that can gain international recognition, an exchange of prisoners - including the Israel Defense Forces soldiers whose kidnapping sparked the war in Lebanon and fighting in Gaza this summer - talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and an international mission in Gaza to monitor a cease-fire.
"We cannot remain impassive in the face of the horror that continues to unfold before our eyes," Zapatero said.
The Israeli and US governments owe everyone a damn good explanation for standing by their abandoned Road Map while refusing to accept any new ideas as people continue to die in the region on a daily basis. Talk of peace is cheap. It's action that counts.
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