The United States is preparing for the return of its Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni, who was recalled in mid-December amid a massive flare-up of violence in the region, Israeli public radio said today.
The radio said US officials had stepped up contacts with both Israel and the Palestinians with a view to launching a new round of shuttle diplomacy between the two sides in the new year.
Mr Zinni's arrival in the region on November 26 coincided with a spate of suicide bombings by Palestinian radicals and fierce Israeli counter-attacks on symbols of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's authority.
Following his recall Mr Arafat, blocked in Ramallah by Israeli forces, called for an end to anti-Israeli attacks and a relative calm descended on the region, shaken for 15 months by the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
A statement by the Palestinian leadership yesterday called for a "quick return of Zinni and his team to proceed to the application of the Mitchell plan and the Tenet memorandum."
The Mitchell plan calls for an end to violence and the implementation of confidence-building measures, then a return to peace talks.
The Tenet plan is a blueprint for implementing a ceasefire.
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said at the same time that the Palestinians were on the right path toward implementation of the Mitchell plan.
He said Mr Arafat was not doing enough to quell terror but was not wholly responsible for the recent attacks and lack of arrests.
The State Department has said Mr Zinni would only return to the region when he and Secretary of State Colin Powell believe his presence would be effective in bringing about a ceasefire.
Powell spoke by telephone with both Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Friday, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said in Washington.
Asked about the possibility of Mr Zinni returning to the Middle East, Mr Reeker noted recent remarks by Powell that the situation in the region would first have to improve.
AFP