RAMALLAH, West Bank, 8 April 2008 — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held their first face-to-face talks in nearly two months in Jerusalem yesterday.
According to sources, they agreed to wrap up a peace deal by the end of the year and pledged to resume more frequent talks, about every two weeks.
However, the differences over Israeli settlements on disputed territory, military checkpoints in the West Bank, violence by Palestinian militants and Hamas control over the Gaza Strip make that date look increasingly unrealistic.
Under a US-backed peace plan, Israel is required to freeze settlement expansion, but Olmert has said construction will continue in settlements Israel wants to keep in a final peace deal.
“The settlement activities occupied a large part of the negotiations,” said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who attended yesterday’s meeting. “President Abbas showed documents, maps, and emphasized the necessity to stop the settlement expansion.”
“Both leaders reiterated their commitment to the Annapolis process and to reaching a historic agreement by the end of the year,” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. “Both sides raised concerns, but they agreed that the negotiations will go on.”
He said the Palestinians discussed Israeli settlement construction and humanitarian issues in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel raised its security concerns and called on the Palestinians to rein in fighters.
Erekat said Olmert also gave tentative approval to Abbas’ request to grant West Bank residency to 10,000 Palestinians who now have expired visas.
In all, a total of 54,000 Palestinians would receive residency rights, and 12,000 requests were approved in the past, he said.
During a trip to the region late last month, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice persuaded Israel to begin lifting some of the hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks it maintains in the West Bank.
Israel says it has taken down one permanent checkpoint and removed some 50 unmanned roadblocks. But the Palestinians say more has to be done.
Israel says the travel restrictions are needed to deter Palestinian attackers. The Palestinians and the international community have said the roadblocks are excessive and stifling the Palestinian economy.
Meanwhile, Israeli National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said yesterday that an Iranian attack on Israel would result in the “destruction of the Iranian nation.” The warning comes as Israel holds a weeklong civil defense exercise to drill responses to emergency situations, like attacks from militants or enemy states.
— With input from agencies
