Moussa statement EGYPT is intensifying diplomatic efforts to resolve the stand-off between the UN and Iraq, as the US increases its military presence in the Gulf. The US wants Iraq to resume cooperation with UN inspectors charged with destroying the country's weapons of mass destruction. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said yesterday he had been in close contact with Arab diplomats in the Gulf, Syria and Jordan in an attempt to coordinate Arab efforts for a diplomatic solution. "While we are calling for flexibility and asserting the importance of the resumption of cooperation between Iraq and UNSCOM to fully implement the relevant Security Council resolutions, we believe it is important for the Iraqi people to feel secure and to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Moussa told reporters. No conditions CHIEF Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat rejected Israeli plans to set new conditions for the implementation of the Wye River agreement as the Israeli government convened, after a two week delay, to ratify the accord, reports Khaled Amayreh from Jerusalem. Erakat said Palestinians will implement the accord to the letter and will not accept any new conditions. He called on Israel to implement its obligations by opening a Gaza airport and transportation corridor from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Debate lasted for several hours and the agreement was expected to be ratified by a thin majority. At least four of the 17 ministers attending intend to oppose it, with only nine in favour and four abstaining. If approved, parliament could vote today and Israel might still be able to meet Monday's deadline for an initial pullout from two per cent of the West Bank. But before the cabinet session Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said ratification, let alone implementation, would be attached to clauses and preconditions the Palestinian Authority would have to meet, including the formal annulment of the Palestinian National Charter, regardless of the fact that they are not included in the Wye River agreement. Municipal elections PRELIMINARY results from Israel's municipal elections indicate the growing strength of religious parties and increased support for candidates representing special interest groups, including immigrants from the former Soviet Union, at the expense of Labour and Likud. Ultra orthodox parties -- Shas, Agudat and the National Religious Party -- won nearly half of the seats on Jerusalem's city council. Ehud Olmert, the rightist secular mayor of Jerusalem, was re-elected with a comfortable majority, and immediately blamed the low turnout among secular voters for the council election results. Polls predicted that Labour-backed candidates would win the mayoral race in three of Israel's four big cities, Tel Aviv, Beersheba and Haifa, though Likud insisted "two thirds of the local councils remain in the party's control"
