Israeli security barrier blocking peace talks

Israel must halt construction of a West Bank security barrier and show movement on other issues if it wants a summit between the Palestinian and Israeli leaders, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said today.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would not accept preconditions for a summit, and the dispute threatened hopes for a decisive effort to end three years of violence and jump-start long-stalled peace talks.

Qureia said Israel should stop all construction in Jewish settlements – a key road map requirement that Sharon has evaded – and end travel restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Palestinians object to the security barrier, which cuts deep into the West Bank in several areas to incorporate Jewish settlements into the “Israeli” side. About a quarter of the planned 360-mile route has been completed.

Qureia also called on Israel to lift a siege on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and release Palestinian prisoners.

“If now Mr Sharon says he’s ready to discuss seriously these issues ... and declares that he’s ready to take decisions that will satisfy both the Palestinian and Israeli sides, then I’ll be ready to meet,” he said. “I want a meeting that will end up with positive results.”

However, Qureia gave no indication that he would be willing to dismantle militant groups, a requirement of the road map and a key US-Israeli demand.

Sharon rejected any preconditions for a meeting with Qureia. “If he wants to meet, we’ll meet, if he doesn’t, we won’t,” Sharon said, according to a participant in a closed-door meeting with members of his Likud party.

Sharon has said that he is considering “unilateral steps” if peace talks fail. According to media reports, these steps might include dismantling some isolated Jewish settlements and Israel drawing its own border with the Palestinians.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator, said today that singlehanded steps by Israel would not resolve the conflict. “Peace is two sides. Peace is negotiations and agreeing between the Palestinians and Israel, not between him and himself.”

Momentum had seemed to be building in recent days toward a renewal of talks on implementing the US-backed road map peace plan.

Last week, the main Palestinian militant groups agreed to a meeting in Egypt in early December to discuss a cease-fire with Israel. But the latest comments by the two premiers indicated that it could take some time to resume talks.

In other developments, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat questioned Israel’s commitment to the road map, and the spiritual leader of Hamas threatened to resume attacks on Israeli civilians.

Sheik Ahmed Yassin said in a newspaper interview that Hamas, which has been responsible for dozens of deadly attacks in Israel over the past three years, is ready to consider a cease-fire but only if Israel reciprocates.

“As long as Palestinian civilians are the victims of Israeli attacks, Israeli civilians also will be victims,” he told the German daily Die Welt.

Arafat, who has been confined to the West Bank town of Ramallah for nearly two years, attended morning prayers early today to mark the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr.

Arafat said the Palestinians remained committed to the road map, and accused Israel of blocking the plan. ”Unfortunately, the other side did not agree to the road map,” he said.