SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ISRAELI DECISION TO LIFT SIEGE OF RAMALLAH COMPOUND

This statement has been issued by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of the Government of Israel to lift the siege of President Arafat’s Ramallah compound.  He strongly believes that both sides should fully implement Security Council resolution 1435 immediately and return to the negotiating table.  The best path away from violence and stalemate is through the road map set out by the Quartet in its 17 September communiqué which aims for a complete end of violence, the early establishment of a Palestinian State with provisional borders and a just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict.

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