The Sharon-Peres Government is continuing its preparations for an all-out military assault upon the Arab Palestinian people, a warlike action which may escalate into a dangerous region-wide flare-up - which would be a disaster for all peoples of the Middle East. In the Israeli press, there is a veritable flood of articles by well-informed commentators, describing in full detail the plans for that attack. Many of these articles remark that the decision has been taken long ago, and that the Sharon Government is merely waiting for the most auspicious political circumstances from its point of view. Also, Sharon tries to get the approval of the United States - which is anyway giving him an almost full backing - to use force on a scale which was not seen in our region for many years.

While the proclaimed "restraint" of the Sharon Government continues, so do the closure and siege of Palestinian towns and villages, the assassination of Palestinian activists by Israeli undercover units, the daily humiliation of Palestinians at Israeli military roadblocks, and the rampage of settler vigilantes - all of it leading to further Palestinian casualties and to a further deterioration of their already severely curtailed standard of living. Many Palestinian families can no longer afford even the most elementary products - with the possibility of going to work systematically denied to them, and being often locked up in their towns and villages and prevented from going out even for the most urgent medical and humanitarian reasons.

It is this situation which leads some Palestinians to acts of despair, including suicide bombings directed at the civilian population in Israel. We condemn the harming of innocent civilians, and note that in the final reckoning such acts cause damage to the just Palestinian cause. Still, we need to sound once again the warning: the one and only lesson from the events of the past months is that there is no solution by force. The use of more force by the Israeli Army will not solve anything, and will just cause more bloodshed; the shedding - not only of Palestinian blood, of Israeli blood as well.

Therefore, we reiterate our demand from the Government of Israel, not to implement its war plans. We call upon the government to agree to a cease-fire on the basis of the diplomatic initiatives recently brought up in our region, and which include the return of Israeli forces to positions they held before October 2000, and the complete freezing of construction in all settlements.

Immediately upon the cease-fire going into effect, Israel must implement all its obligations under the previous agreements, and start negotiations on the definite solution. Such a solution can only be achieved on the basis of withdrawal to the June 1967 lines, the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including East Jerusalem. Also, the solution must recognize the right of the Palestinian refugees to have their problem solved in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.