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Photo: Reuters
Congratulated on pullout. Sharon
Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters
Agrees to meet with Sharon. Abbas
Photo: Reuters

Abbas to Sharon: We are your partners

PA leader phones prime minister to congratulate him on Gaza disengagement; Bush says U.S. remains ‘fully committed to defending the security and well-being of our ally, Israel’

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas phoned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to congratulate him on the completion of the Gaza disengagement.

 

The two leaders agreed to meet soon.

 

“We are your partners for peace,” Abbas told the prime minister during the conversation, adding that he hopes the pullout will mark a new chapter in relations between the nations.

 

The leaders spoke last on June 21 during a meeting that was described at the time as “difficult and unsuccessful.”

 

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday the U.S. would work with Abbas' government to smother extremist groups - something Israel has made a precondition for progress on the internationally drafted peace plan.

 

Bush also said the U.S. remained "fully committed to defending the security and well-being of our ally, Israel", and called for an end to all forms of terrorism in the region.

 

"We'll continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security," the president said.

 

Ali Waked contributed to this report.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.22.05, 22:41
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