On November 16, 2006, France, Italy and Spain announced a new Middle East peace plan proposed by Spanish Premier

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

during talks with French president

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

. Later on, the plan was introduced to

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

, Italy's prime minister who gave his full support to the plan. The peace move came after

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

invaded the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

in Operation Autumn Clouds.

Plan

The plan is a five-point blueprint for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The plan calls for: * an immediate

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

, * an exchange of prisoners, * an international peace conference (similar to the Madrid Conference of 1991, which was held by Spain and led to the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

), while it also * backs a prospective Palestinian unity government, and * an international mission in the Gaza Strip to monitor the ceasefire.

Reaction

Senior

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the plan in principle, but added that there was no need for a new initiative, but rather that it could serve as a realistic political track to a

two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

. An Israeli official said parts of the plan were being discussed, but that it was not being taken seriously as it was not coordinated with the EU or Israel. Israel supports direct negotiations over an international conference.

References

* * Franco-Italian-Spanish Middle East Peace Plan, 2006 Franco-Italian-Spanish Middle East Peace Plan, 2006 Franco-Italian-Spanish Middle East Peace Plan, 2006 Israeli–Palestinian peace process Peace treaties Proposed treaties France–Italy relations Italy–Spain relations France–Spain relations France–Israel relations France–Palestine relations Israel–Italy relations Israel–Spain relations {{Israel-stub

Plan

Reaction

See also

References