Ramallah, 03-12-06: Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP met with Austrian Foreign Minister, Dr. Ursula Plassnik, in Ramallah yesterday. The meeting was also attended by other members of the Palestinian National Initiative, including Kamal Hassouneh, Nassif Abu-Shousheh, Bassem Khouri, and Dr. Mohammad Odeh.
They discussed the current situation in Palestine, focusing primarily on the process towards forming a national unity government, in which Dr. Barghouthi has played a key role as mediator between Fatah and Hamas.
Dr. Barghouthi also addressed the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip which took effect on 26 November, and ongoing negotiations to expand the ceasefire to the West Bank.
He stressed that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critical, and that Israel's plans to change facts on the ground in the West Bank through the expansion of Israeli settlements and the construction of the Separation Wall, are continuing apace.
Dr. Barghouthi called for a greater European role in seeking an end to the occupation through the establishment of an effective peace process, starting with an international peace conference to bring resolution of the conflict back to its basis in international law and United Nations resolutions.