w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m
Last update – 14:20 15/01/2007
By Aluf Benn and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, and the Associated Press
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meeting for three hours Monday, agreed to hold a three-way summit with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the near future, U.S. officials said.
A senior U.S. official in Rice’s delegation said the “trilateral meeting” will be aimed at “having a conversation about the political horizon leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters on the record.
Olmert’s spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, confirmed the prime minister had agreed “in principle” to attend the summit. But she said no date or place had been set.
The U.S. official said the meeting would likely take place in the next three or four weeks somewhere in the Middle East.
Palestinian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Speaking to his Kadima faction after meeting with Rice, Olmert said that the internationally brokered road map continues to be the basis for the peace process, and that there was “no substitute for bilateral negotiations” with the Palestinians.
He said that if a Palestinian unity government made up of Hamas and Fatah agreed to accept the three key international demands for recognition of Israel, the renunciation of violence and acceptance of previous accords, then negotiations could be possible.
No details of the talks between Olmert and Rice were formally released, but the prime minister had been expected to tell the secretary of state that Israel would take “unprecedented steps” vis-a-vis the Palestinians, if the Hamas-led PA government met the criteria spelled out by the Quartet.
The meeting between Olmert and Rice was also called to discuss ways to boost Abbas’ standing, as a means to further the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians.
The prime minister was to stress that his is a “peace government” but without the Palestinians meeting the three international preconditions it is impossible to more forward.
Olmert was also expected to warn that the establishment of a Palestinian government of national unity, which does not adopt the preconditions set by the Quartet, will bring an end to Israel’s efforts to support Abbas.
On Sunday, Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin told the cabinet that the violence between Fatah and Hamas, which led to the deaths of 20 people last week, was considered by the Palestinians as crossing a “red line.” He added that this could result in greater flexibility on the part of the factions in agreeing on a government of national unity.
Political sources in Jerusalem said on Sunday that “the Palestinians are now talking about the division of ministerial portfolios in the new government, without committing themselves to accept the Quartet preconditions.”
Meanwhile, in an interview on Channel 10 on Sunday, Rice said the road map must be implemented and there is no reason to skip over any of its stages. Her comment was in part referring to an earlier rejection by Abbas of the idea that the second stage of the road map – calling for a Palestinian state based on temporary borders – was a realistic possibility at this stage.
She also said that in her talks with Abbas on Sunday, he had reiterated his wish and willingness to carry out Palestinian obligations laid out in the road map.
Following their meeting in Ramallah on Sunday, Abbas announced that he would not agree to a Palestinian state within temporary borders, as is proposed in the second stage of the road map. “We do not consider this possibility a realistic one that we can build on,” the Palestinian leader said.
Other Palestinian officials also voiced their opposition to such an arrangement, saying that it would stymie progress toward a final settlement.
Rice said that the U.S. intends to deepen its involvement in the peace process, aiming to restart it on the basis of the road map.
There have been reports in recent days that a summit of the leaderships of both Fatah and Hamas is being organized in Damascus, with the specific aim of finalizing an agreement for a national unity government. Abbas denied that any such meeting is scheduled to take place.
According to the reports, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Sheikh Mohammed Akef, was instrumental in convincing Khaled Meshal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, and Abbas to meet in order to iron out their differences.
January 20, 2007 at 7:15 am
One fucking blog isn’t enough for you?