Ramallah, Nov 12: Palestinian premier Ahmed Qorei called for a new ceasefire with Israel and voiced commitment to the troubled "roadmap" peace plan as veteran leader Yasser Arafat called for dialogue between the two sides. During a session of Parliament convened here to approve his new government, Qorei called for "civilians on both sides to be spared and for an agreement on a ceasefire to be reached with clear conditions defining the commitments of both parties."

A ceasefire called by armed Palestinian factions in the summer unravelled in August after a massive suicide bus bomb in Jerusalem, prompting the Israeli government to freeze all contacts with the Palestinians. Qorei, whose predecessor Mahmud Abbas resigned in September, has previously said the securing of a mutual ceasefire would be the top priority of his new government.

Israel has said it will not consider him as a partner for peace unless he is prepared to dismantle the infrastructure of groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have carried out hundreds of deadly attacks.

Progress in the internationally-backed roadmap, which envisages the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005, has ground to a halt in the past three months amid the continuing violence and absence of talks. But Qorei said that his government remained committed to the project and other agreements signed with Israel.

"Our strategic choice is to stick to peace, to the roadmap and to agreements signed with Israel," he said.

Bureau Report