Press Release No. 093-03
March 20, 2003
WORK MUST CONTINUE ON PALESTINE-ISRAEL PEACE ROADMAP – OPLE
Even in the midst of the looming war in Iraq, no efforts should be spared
in achieving a just and meaningful peace between Palestine and Israel.
This, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, is necessary if
the Middle East is to hope to achieve true and lasting peace.
“The Philippines welcomes efforts by all those directly involved in the search
for peace, particularly the renewed commitment of the United States and the
United Kingdom to increase their efforts and to work with the leaders of
Palestine and Israel in drawing up their roadmap to peace,” Secretary Ople
said.
It is heartening to note that even though much of the attention of the world
has focused on Iraq, the leaders of the world have had the wisdom and foresight
to remain focused on the Palestinian issue, the Secretary added.
“The Philippines continues to support the efforts of the ‘quartet’ composed
of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the UN Secretary-General
in seeking an end to the Palestine-Israeli conflict,” the Secretary said.
“The Philippines continues to hope for a Middle East where the Palestinian
and Israeli states can co-exist peacefully,” Secretary Ople added.
The Philippines has no illusions on the difficulties in resolving the Palestine-Israel
conflict. There are still large areas of disagreement concerning the
roadmap. “But the Philippines remains hopeful that the conflict will
be resolved, and resolved in a manner that will respect the rights of Palestinians
and Israelis. This long and tragic chapter of history must be brought
to a close. We will support every peaceful effort directed at achieving
this goal,” Secretary Ople said.