RAMALLAH, 4 May 2005 — A top US senator yesterday praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a tremendous leader in the face of fierce criticism of Abbas by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist described Abbas as a “bold leader” whom the United States encouraged to continue to lead “as we proceed along the road map”.
“He has shown tremendous leadership,” said Frist, reading a statement to reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
During hour-long talks with Abbas on Monday, the senator said he “commended the president for his strong leadership, for his commitment to the Palestinian people and to his commitment to reforms,” both economic and security. “It’s been a pleasure to be here today to express the support of the (US) president (George W. Bush) and his Cabinet,” Frist said.
Meanwhile, three members of Hamas were released yesterday after being arrested by the Palestinian security services while preparing to fire rockets at Israel in defiance of a truce.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry said the release of the group, who were detained on Monday night in the north of the occupied territory, followed the hammering out of a compromise mediated by Egyptian mediators in Gaza. “We have insisted on the necessity to respect the truce and warned that those who violate it will have to answer for their actions in line with the law,” a ministry spokesman said.
The three men had been detained in the Beit Lahiya region of northern Gaza as they were apparently about to fire makeshift Qassam rockets, which take their name from Hamas’ armed wing. Two Qassams had hit the nearby southern Israeli town of Sderot earlier in the day but without causing casualties. Hamas and the other armed factions are meant to be observing a “period of quiet,” which was agreed on at talks hosted by Egypt in March.
Also, the Israeli government has offered to relocate Gaza Strip settlers slated to be uprooted in this summer’s pullout to four new communities north of the coastal city of Ashkelon, Israeli media reported yesterday.
Presented by Justice Minister Tzippi Livni at a marathon meeting late Monday with settlers’ representatives, the four new communities would be built in the Nitzanim region, one of the most prestigious real-estate areas in the country.
According to the Haaretz daily, quoting “a senior aide to the prime minister”, the offer is contingent on the settlers submitting a list of “masses” willing to relocate as a group, and that they renounce law-breaking in their ongoing efforts to foil the withdrawal plan.
The settlers have until May 10 to inform the government how many will move to the area, in order that construction can begin.
Livni told the settlers that if enough agreed to the move, they would be able to form their own autonomous regional council, as they have requested. The Nitzanim initiative was first raised last month, with reports that the government was working on a deal whereby the settlers would leave their homes in the Strip without opposition in return for relocation in the Nitzanim area.
Environmentalists slammed the plan, saying the targeted area is one of the last unspoiled coastlines in southern Israel. However, Livni said yesterday morning that Nitzanim’s famous rolling sand dunes would not be harmed by the scheme.
The withdrawal, under which Israel will evacuate all its 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, as well as four in the northern West Bank, is due to begin in the summer.
— With input from agencies
