Sharon: Meeting with Abbas uncertain
PM says, ‘it is important to hold talks, but we cannot attend the meeting without adequate preparation’; Palestinian source: We are not interested in holding a meeting just for the photo-ops
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said during Sunday’s cabinet meeting that he is not certain that his meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, scheduled for Tuesday, will in fact take place.
“It is important to hold talks, but we cannot attend the meeting without adequate preparation,” he said.
Sharon’s top advisor Dov Weisglass is expected to meet with PA Negotiations Minister Saeb Erikat to discuss the matter.
On Saturday Abbas said a date for the summit had not been finalized, adding that it would take place only if both sides would be prepared for it.
“The Palestinians are not interested in a summit for the sake of public relations; we are interested in holding a summit during which we will get answers and make progress on issues related to the prisoners, wanted Palestinians, withdrawals from (West Bank) towns and all the agreements reached at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit,” he said.
A Palestinian source added that, “We want the Palestinian street to feel the progress on the ground; we are not interested in holding a meeting just for the photo-ops.”
IDF: Hamas uninterested in truce
Earlier on Sunday IDF Intelligence Chief Major General Aharon Zeevi Farkash told the cabinet that it is in the interest of the Palestinian terror organizations to wage terror attacks against Israel.
“Terror organizations are constantly trying to plan attacks, including kidnappings. Their aim is to hamper any move for normalization with Israel and therefore they want children in Gaza to starve and fight, which will strengthen them. In this sense they want to carry out attacks,” Farkash said.
Commenting on the latest spate of violence between the Palestinian Authority and the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, Farkash said that “Hamas is losing points, and the PA has an interest in preserving the truce. The situation in Gaza has changed and they (the Palestinians) are more aware of this fact.”
Farkash added that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “can become stronger if he regains his composure.”
As for the series of bloody confrontations between PA security officers and Hamas gunmen following Abbas' announcement of a ban on carrying arms in public, the head of the IDF’s intelligence unit said that “the crisis between the sides has been temporarily calmed down.”
On Saturday Abbas met with Hamas and Fatah representatives in Gaza in an effort to ease the tensions between the two sides who exchanged blames as to who is responsible for the chaotic situation in the tiny stretch of land.
Ismail Hanieh, Hamas leader in Gaza, and Said Siam, represented Hamas while Ahmad Khiles, Fatah secretary in Gaza, represented the ruling party Fatah.
During the session, the representatives agreed to maintain open channels of communication. The sides discussed recent tensions and decided that disagreements between the two organizations must be resolved through dialogue and not through an armed struggle.
Ronny Sofer and Ali Waked contributed to this report
