PM willing to meet Abbas
During talks with French Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy, for the first time PM Olmert says he would like to meet with Palestinian chairman – but conditional on Abbas’ fight against terrorism
A Change in position: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is willing to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, he told French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy when the two met in Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon.
With that, Olmert conditioned the meeting on Abbas fighting terror emanating from the Palestinian Authority and targeting Israel. “Abbas needs to start to work to fulfill the commitments the Palestinians took upon themselves as part of the Road map,” Olmert said.
Until today, Olmert has refrained from saying whether he would meet with Abbas or not. In the last few days Israel has been deliberating what stance Olmert should take regarding Abbas’ overtures to meet when the he visits Washington next week.
The French minister told Olmert that France would not agree to meet with any Hamas leaders. “We will not give them entry permits, and we’re pressuring other countries on this issue as well. Hamas needs to change; the world’s position is not going to change – and does not have to change. I won’t meet a single one of them,” Douste-Blazy said during the meeting in the capital.
PM Olmert, French FM Douste-Blazy shake hands (Photo: AP)
Douste-Blazy further warned the prime minister that if the Palestinian people do not get financial aid soon, it will only lead to extremism and the radicalization of the community. The situation cannot deteriorate, and it is crucial that there exist mutual confidence between you and Abbas, he said.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Olmert said that he viewed negotiations with the Palestinians as key to developments in the regions. Any other development, Olmert said, is not as good, because it would not be consensual. “We will do everything possible so there will be negotiations. It is important to Israel that France understand that contacts are conditional on Hamas accepting the Quartet’s demands,” he said.
“I consider Mahmoud Abbas as a partner but he is not an independent leader. As long as the PA is practically governed by Hamas, we can’t hold diplomatic talks,” Olmert explained. Regarding the humanitarian crisis in the PA, Olmert said Israel would do all it can to ease things for Palestinian civilians, and noted he would support the establishment of a fund devoted only for humanitarian purposes – whose monies did not go through the government to pay employees salaries. He even noted Israel’s willingness to buy medicines and transfer them directly to PA hospitals. “Medicines don’t shoot at Israel’s citizens,” Olmert said.
The two also addressed the matter of anti-Semitism during the talks. Olmert expressed his appreciation for the battle against anti-Semitism in France led by French President Jacques Chirac. Douste-Blazy said struggle against anti-Semitism has been strengthened thanks to new legislation passed by the current government.
Regarding the Iran nuclear crisis, the French foreign minister said he stresses the importance of the international community standing together with a unanimous and determined message for Iran.
Earlier Douste-Blazy met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. In a joint press conference the two held in Jerusalem, Douste-Blazy came out strongly against unilateral moves by Israel, saying that borders established unilaterally would be unacceptable.
