BRUSSELS, April 8 (JTA) — The European Union has sent a letter to President Clinton outlining a proposal for joint action to breathe life into the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, according to diplomatic sources here. Monday’s decision to make the proposal came during a meeting here of the political directors of the 15 E.U. member-states’ foreign ministries. The meeting was attended by the European Union’s special Middle East envoy, Miguel Angel Moratinos, who later told reporters that the proposal outlines the terms of a “code of behavior” that Israel and the Palestinians would have to follow in order to “try to find again the dynamic of dialogue.” Israeli-Palestinian relations reached a crisis point after Israel began construction last month of a new Jewish neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, and after Islamic militants launched subsequent terrorist attacks on Israeli targets. In recent months, the European Union has sought an enhanced role in the Middle East peace process, a move welcomed by the Palestinians, but viewed more cautiously by the United States and Israel. Although the 11 points of the E.U. “code of behavior” have not been disclosed for diplomatic reasons, well-informed sources said it calls on the two parties to refrain from taking unilateral actions — a reference to the Israeli construction — and calls on the Palestinian Authority to clamp down on terrorism.
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