Abbas meets US envoy in bid to rescue Mideast peace plan

THE Palestinian prime minister, who is making a final push to halt attacks on Israelis, met yesterday with a US envoy dispatched to the region to get a Mideast peace plan back on track.

The head of the US monitoring team, John Wolf, held talks with Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the prime minister’s meeting with Palestinian militias.

On Monday, Egyptian mediators went home without a firm agreement from Hamas and other militant groups to lay down their arms, but Palestinian officials said they are confident a deal can be reached in coming days.

Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said the talks are going well.

“Maybe, after 24 hours, there will be positive results,” she said yesterday after meeting in Cairo with Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League.

The militants have said they are willing, in principle, to halt attacks, but say Israel must halt targeted killings of Palestinians, free prisoners and withdraw to positions held before the outbreak of fighting in September 2000.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told parliament on Monday that he would continue his offensive against Hamas and said his government would pursue terrorists “in every place and at every time until victory”.

Israel also says a ceasefire can only be a step toward dismantling the armed groups.

Mr Abbas has said he will not use force against the militias for fear of triggering civil war.

Israel has sent the head of its Shin Bet security service, Avi Dichter, to Washington to brief National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other officials on the government’s position regarding Hamas and a ceasefire.

Mr Sharon’s chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, met with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Ms Rice in Washington on Monday to prepare for a possible round of talks next weekend in the Middle East.

In a related development, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called the wife of imprisoned West Bank leader Marwan Barghouti early yesterday and told her Israel would release Barghouti in the next two days.

Barghouti is on trial for murder, charged with complicity in terror attacks that killed 26 Israelis.

Israeli political officials declined to comment on reports that Barghouti’s release was being considered as part of the ceasefire package.

Palestinians involved in the Egyptian-mediated talks with the Palestinian factions said Egypt would invite all factions to Cairo in the coming days.

A source close to the talks said US mediators would press Israel to end the targeted killings, and that if it succeeded, the militant groups would then agree to a truce.