OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 30 May 2003 — Israeli and Palestinian premiers met yesterday to discuss disagreements over security and Palestinian statehood. The meeting between Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was their second summit in two weeks.
The two sides were at odds over a declaration recognizing the right of Palestinians to a state and the way the Palestinians are going about stopping militants from attacking Israelis — key elements of an international peace plan called the road map.
The peace plan is the focus of the three-way summit set for Wednesday in the Jordanian resort of Aqaba, where US President George W. Bush plans to push for a start to implementation of the blueprint for ending 32 months of intifada and progressing toward a Palestinian state in 2005.
Palestinian officials said that they would demand an explicit Israeli statement at the Jordan summit recognizing their right to a state. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel was prepared to issue the statement, but only after the Palestinians show concrete efforts to stop attacks against Israelis.
Abbas has been trying to persuade hard-line groups to accept a cease-fire in the struggle against Israel, but Israel insists on a crackdown, the word used in the road map, and destruction of what Israel calls the “terrorist infrastructure.”
Abbas said in comments published yesterday that Hamas could agree as early as next week to halt attacks on Israelis. The leader of the Islamic Jihad group also offered a conditional cease-fire.
“If there is a readiness by Israel to stop its military actions against us and start freeing political prisoners, I think we are ready to guarantee a total cessation of violence,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told Israel TV.
However, in a statement faxed to AP in Gaza, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, linked to the mainstream Fatah movement, said it would continue attacks “in any time and in any place while the occupiers are taking our land, our prisoners are still in prison and our refugees are living outside their homeland.”
The United States also upped pressure on Hamas. White House spokesman Arie Fleischer said the United States expected more than just a cease-fire from Hamas. He said Washington would expect Hamas to disarm and “dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.”
The US also froze the assets of the Al-Aqsa Foundation, an international organization that the United States said helps finance Hamas. “By designating the Al-Aqsa Foundation, we have deprived the Hamas terrorist organization of a vital source of funding and have shut off yet another pipeline of money financing terror,” said John Snow, secretary of the Treasury Department.
Israel has demanded the Palestinians begin disarming and arresting militants before it offers significant concessions.
The Palestinians want Israel to take steps of its own under the plan, such as uprooting Jewish settlement outposts built after March 2001 and freezing settlement expansion.
Abbas has made clear that he prefers negotiations to avoid sparking a Palestinian civil war. He took office on April 30 after Yasser Arafat bowed to international pressure to appoint a prime minister to initiate democratic and security reforms.
Hours ahead of yesterday’s summit, Sharon said Israel will never let go of Jerusalem. “We will never let go of Jerusalem! Never!” he warned in a speech.
“As the prime minister of Israel, I am true to the honor that has been given me of being the guardian of Jerusalem, reunified for eternity,” he said. “I will respect this solemn duty without compromise.”
