A senior Israeli official on Thursday rejected outright an initiative unveiled by the Spanish government for a Middle East cease-fire, exchange of prisoners and international peace conference.
"The common Spanish-French-Italian initiative does not exist. The announcement by (Spanish Prime Minister) Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is hasty," said the foreign ministry official who refused to be named.
France, Italy and Spain are seeking a Middle East cease-fire, a prisoner exchange and an international peace conference, Zapatero said following talks with French President Jacques Chirac in Spain.
The three allies are also calling for a Palestinian "government of national unity" and the dispatch of a fact-finding mission to the Palestinian territories, he said.
"All this violence must end," Zapatero added. "We want to launch a joint initiative on the Middle East situation and push it through at European Union level, preferably with Germany and Britain."