OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 12 July 2003 — Israelis and Palestinians continued yesterday to advance haltingly along their road map to peace, but the latest high-level security talks failed to yield any breakthrough on the key issues. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas were expected in Washington at the end of the month for meetings with US President George W. Bush which could give peace efforts new momentum.
Despite earlier uncertainty due to deep divisions within the Palestinian leadership, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz met Palestinian Minister of State for Security Affairs Mohammad Dahlan on Thursday night at the Erez crossing. Mofaz pressed Dahlan “to act more quickly against radical groups so the peace process can continue,” Israeli public radio reported.
“The meeting was short and serious,” a Palestinian security official said. “The issue of the release of all (Palestinian) prisoners was addressed.”
On Thursday, the security chiefs also discussed Israeli withdrawals from Palestinian villages, but Mofaz said no further pullbacks would take place until the Palestinian Authority cracked down on militant groups in areas it recently took over. Palestinian official sources also announced that Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman would arrive in the Palestinian territories today or tomorrow for talks with Abbas and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
A Hamas leader, meanwhile, said yesterday the Hamas will start kidnapping Israeli soldiers to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners if Israel does not free them under a three-month truce. Nizar Rayyan, a political leader of Hamas, urged the Palestinian Authority and Arab mediators to press Israel to release all Palestinian prisoners.
“We will get you (prisoners) released under the truce if possible,” Rayyan told 3,000 supporters at a rally in Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
