Israeli and Palestinian summit ends on positive note
Israel announced a series of goodwill gestures toward the Palestinians, including plans to release some prisoners, but failed to agree on terms for an Israeli troop pullback in the West Bank and Gaza Strip envisioned in the US-backed plan.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office said the two-and-half-hour meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday evening with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas had been conducted in a “positive and very good atmosphere”.
Mr Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, described the talks as “serious, candid and beneficial”, his press secretary said.
“It was a positive meeting and with good results,” Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr said.
But there appeared to be little chance of putting the peace proposal into motion before Mr Bush meets the two leaders in a June 4 summit in Jordan, showcasing his decision to take a more hands-on approach to Middle East peacemaking after the Iraq war.
Bush left Washington yesterday for Europe, where he will attend a Group of Eight summit in Evian, France, before engaging in Middle East diplomacy with Arab leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and with Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas in Aqaba, Jordan.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said “all signals are a go” for the trilaterate summit. Mr Abbas said on Thursday he expected Hamas militants would agree to stop attacks on Israelis next week. Israel and the US say a truce is not enough and want a “terrorist infrastructure” destroyed.
“We in Hamas are still discussing this issue and we are in need of more time to evaluate the developments on the ground in order to take the right decisions,” Abdel-Aziz Rantissi, a top Hamas official, said.
Dore Gold, an adviser to Mr Sharon said the key question for Israel was, “will the Palestinians disarm and dismantle the terrorist organisations that have been killing Israeli civilians over the last two-and-a-half years?”.
In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian was killed trying to infiltrate into Israel, the army said, calling him a “terrorist”. An explosion was heard after soldiers shot him, suggesting he may have been a suicide bomber.
At the talks, Mr Sharon renewed an offer to withdraw forces from the northern Gaza Strip and West Bank cities and turn the areas into a proving ground for a crackdown on militants that could lead to more pullbacks, Mr Sharon’s office said. But Mr Abbas was not biting.
Palestinians fear a crackdown could spark a civil war. They also say their security forces have been weakened by Israeli army sweeps during a 32-month-old uprising for a state.
Mr Sharon’s office said he offered a series of gestures to Mr Abbas, including the release of Palestinian prisoners and 25,000 work permits in Israel for Palestinian laborers. Israel Radio said 100 prisoners would go free, but no releases appeared imminent.
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