Here's a welcome development:
Ramallah, West Bank (Reuters) - Prominent Palestinian figures appealed on Sunday for an end to violence, adding weight to the election campaign of moderate Mahmoud Abbas to succeed Yasser Arafat and launch peace talks with Israel.
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Some 560 prominent Palestinians, including senior Palestine Liberation Organization figures, cabinet ministers, lawmakers, intellectuals and poets, urged an end to militant attacks and a push for democratic reform to advance the quest for a state."We reaffirm our legitimate right to confront occupation, but call for restoring the popular character of our intifada and ceasing actions that reduce the range of (international) support for our cause and harm the credibility of our struggle," they said in a front-page advertisement in Palestinian newspapers.