OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 23 May 2003 — Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas asked Hamas leaders yesterday to halt bombings against Israel, as Israel announced it had foiled a plan to set up a “bomb school” for attackers.
Hamas officials suggested in the 90-minute meeting that they would halt attacks on civilians in Israel — but not Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip — if Israel stops military strikes against militants.
Israel has turned down such a proposal in the past.
It was the first meeting between Hamas officials and Abbas since he took office last month. Abbas has said he wants to persuade militants to halt attacks, while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insists they be disarmed and arrested.
This disagreement is a key stumbling block to implementing the US-backed road map to Middle East peace, a three-stage plan that calls for an immediate end to violence and envisions a Palestinian state by 2005. The Palestinians have accepted the plan, while Israel has expressed major reservations. Sharon has said he would not give a response until he had discussed his objections with US President George W. Bush.
There were signs yesterday that Abbas and Sharon would meet separately with Bush, who is traveling to Europe next week and possibly stopping in the Middle East.
A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Abbas was considering a proposal to meet with Bush in Qatar. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Sharon might meet with Bush at the end of next week in Europe.
Just before Abbas’ meeting with Hamas, Israel announced it had intercepted a boat heading from Lebanon to Gaza carrying a top Hezbollah explosives expert, 25 rocket detonators and 36 CD-ROM disks with instructions on how to assemble bomb belts for attacks.
The boat also had a radio-activation system for remote-control bombs, the military said.
Israeli officials said the Palestinian Authority and President Yasser Arafat were behind the shipment with the aim of setting up a “bomb school” in the Gaza Strip.
Nabil Abu Rudeinah, a Palestinian Authority spokesman, denied the authority or Arafat had anything to do with the ship.
Last year, Israel intercepted a ship, the Karine A, carrying 50 tons of banned weapons through the Red Sea, reportedly destined for the Palestinian Authority.
In new violence yesterday, six Palestinian children, ranging in age from nine to 14, were wounded by army fire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian doctors said. A 14-year-old boy was in critical condition.
