GAZA CITY, 10 October 2005 — Israel’s defense minister rejected two key Palestinian demands and a much-anticipated summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was suddenly thrown into doubt yesterday. Senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators failed to bridge the differences but they agreed to meet one last time in hopes of salvaging the summit.
The meeting, tentatively set for tomorrow, would be the first between Sharon and Abbas since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month. The unilateral pullout has raised hopes throughout the world that peace talks might soon resume. Israeli and Palestinian officials say they want the summit to produce concrete results.
But the two sides are deadlocked over several Palestinian demands, including the reopening of Gaza’s border with Egypt, the handover of West Bank towns to Palestinian security control, the release of prisoners held by Israel and demands for more weapons for the embattled Palestinian security services.
Sharon told his Cabinet yesterday that he didn’t know if the meeting will take place, stressing that he will not make moves that he believes threaten Israel’s security.
“There are gestures that Israel can and will make, and there are gestures that it won’t,” he said, according to meeting participants.
Abbas has said one of his goals will be to persuade Israel to carry out pledges it already has made, including pulling its troops out of five West Bank towns.
Israel agreed to the pullback as part of a February cease-fire. But the process stalled after two towns, Jericho and Tulkarm, were handed over, with Israel accusing the Palestinians of failing to take action against militants in those towns. Israel later retook Tulkarm after a bomber from the area attacked an Israeli city. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz opposes any further handovers of Palestinian towns, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. Mofaz also objects to supplying Abbas’ security forces with new weapons.
The Palestinians say their security forces need better equipment to restore law and order in the chaotic Palestinian areas. Abbas has resisted international calls to disarm militant groups, fearing it would provoke civil war, though he recently banned armed groups from displaying weapons. The militants have repeatedly ignored the ban.
Mofaz’s decision raised doubts about the summit. Top Israeli and Palestinian officials met yesterday in what was expected to be the final preparations for the summit.
After the meeting, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the two sides would decide today whether to hold the meeting.
— With input from agencies
