RAMALLAH, West Bank, 9 March 2008 — A Palestinian negotiator yesterday accused Israel of weakening the Palestinian Authority (PA) by preventing it from carrying out its duties to enforce law and order in the Palestinian territories.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, also secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee, was responding to the Israeli statement that words in themselves are not enough and that the PA “must do what needs to be done to fight terror.”
He told the Voice of Palestine Radio that the Israeli measures of “closure, roadblocks and expanding Jewish settlements, in addition to the military offensive in Gaza Strip last week would only widen the gaps between the two sides.”
Meanwhile, the political adviser to the dismissed Hamas government, Ahmed Yousef, said his group was seeking more Arab help to end differences with Fatah.
In another development, an Israeli lawmaker of Labor party, Dani Yatom, yesterday called for the division of Jerusalem to prevent future attacks in the city.
Abbas Wants Peace Talks
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called yesterday for talks with Israel despite a surge of violence and said that a just peace was his people’s goal.
“We condemn all the attacks, we demand peace and we are determined to make peace, and there is no other path but the path of peace based on international justice,” Abbas told a rally.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions are expected to visit Egypt next week to continue talks on a cease-fire deal with Israel under Egyptian mediation, an Islamic Jihad leader said yesterday.
— With input from agencies
