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Fifty-eight former world leaders, including Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton have
signed a statement in support of the peace initiative. U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell's decision to meet with the two main architects of the "Geneva agreement",
during a stopover in Brussels in the first week of December, came in for criticism
from the Israeli government. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Powell
was "making a mistake". The Bush administration is, however, swearing by the "road
map for peace" announced with much fanfare in the middle of 2003. Most Israelis and
Palestinians are of the opinion that it will be very difficult to revive the plan which
currently lies in tatters. President Bush reiterated his administration's pro-Likud
position in the second week of December by telling the American media that
Palestinians would have to first stop attacks on Israelis before Israel could make any
meaningful concessions. Bush's comments came soon after senior Israeli officials had
concluded that the Islamic movement Hamas had suspended its bombing campaign
inside Israel in the past two months. Leaders of 13 Palestinian groups, including
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, met in Cairo in early December to debate a ceasefire
with Israel. Palestinian Prime Minster Ahmed Qureia had specially flown to Cairo to
persuade the militant groupings to adopt a more flexible stance on the issue.