Spain will sponsor a new Middle East peace initiative along with France and Italy, the prime minister said Thursday, stressing that the international community cannot remain idle as violence rages between Israel and the Palestinians.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced the initiative at a summit with President Jacques Chirac of France. “Peace between Israel and the Palestinians means to a large extent peace on the international scene,” Zapatero told a news conference. “We cannot remain impassive in the face of the horror that continues to unfold before our eyes,” Zapatero said. (AP)