US pressures Palestine for ceasefire

The US began piling the pressure on the Palestinian leadership today to halt attacks on Israelis and save the latest Mideast peace effort.

President George Bush’s Mideast envoy John Wolf held talks with Palestinian premier Mahmoud Abbas as part of the effort to salvage the road map to peace thrown into doubt by a surge of violence and failure to extract a ceasefire pledge from violent Palestinian groups.

Egyptian mediators went home from Gaza without a firm agreement from Hamas and other armed groups to lay down arms, but Palestinian officials said they are confident a deal could be reached in the coming days.

Palestinian MP Hanan Ashrawi insisted today that the talks were going well. “Maybe, after 24 hours, there will be positive results,” she said.

The militants have said they are willing, in principle, to halt attacks, but have attached conditions: Israel must halt targeted killings of Palestinians suspected of involvement in violence and other military strike, release prisoners and withdraw to positions held before the outbreak of fighting in September 2000.

In another development, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called the wife of imprisoned West Bank leader Marwan Barghouti today, and told her Israel would release him in the next two days.

Barghouti, who led the West Bank uprising, is on trial for murder, charged with complicity in terror attacks that killed 26 Israelis.

Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein wrote to Sharon that it would be “inconceivable” to release Barghouti whom he described as a “first-rate architect of terrorism,” before the trial has ended.

“Including Barghouti in some package deal with the Palestinians should not even be considered, the voice of our brothers’ blood forbids it,” wrote Rubinstein, referring to the Israelis killed in the past 32 months of fighting.

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