Sharon-Abbas meet in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met at Sharon’s official Jerusalem residence Tuesday amid harsh Israeli complaints regarding the PA’s inability to deal with the escalation in Palestinian terror.

In a gesture to Abbas, Sharon offered to pull back Israeli forces from West Bank towns Bethlehem and Qalqilya within two weeks, but conditioned the move on a credible Palestinian plan to rein in terrorists there, Sharon’s spokesman said.

Prior to the meeting government officials said the recent attacks and attempted suicide bombing prove Abbas is not doing enough to stop terror.

The summit marked the first time the two leaders have met since the Sharm el-Sheikh summit last February.

During the meeting, Israel was expected to demand that Abbas present a security plan for coordinating the disengagement that includes the prevention of attacks on evacuated settlements. More urgently, Israel is expecting more decisive Palestinian action against terror groups who continue to carry out attacks.

The meeting was also scheduled to focus on the issue of the demolition of settler homes in Gaza. Sharon has adopted a Justice Ministry initiative whereby Israel would demolish the homes and the PA would remove the rubble with the help of funding from a third party.

PA also holds list of demands

In a his recent meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz suggested the rubble should either be ground down or used to build a seaport.

Also Tuesday the IDF has apprehended more than 50 Islamic Jihad terror suspects across the West Bank, and two Palestinian boys from the West Bank town of Qalqilya who in possession of make-shift weapons.

The wave of arrests follows growing Palestinian violence in recent days, including the murder of an Israeli man in the northern West Bank and the arrest of a would-be female suicide bomber Monday.

The Palestinians, in turn, demand concessions regarding IDF checkpoints, the re-routing of Israel’s West Bank security barrier, and the release of additional security prisoners.

Palestinians officials said they were disappointed with the progress made at the summit.

"It was a difficult meeting and it did not meet our expectations," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia Qurie said during a news conference in Ramallah.

"Overall, what was presented to us was not convincing or satisfying to us at all.”

He said the Palestinians demanded the release of Marwan Bargouti, who was sentenced by Israel to five life imprisonments for his participation in terror acts, as well as the release of former Palestinian Legislative Council member Hussam Khader.