Sharon, Abbas meeting set
After discussing need for meeting for some time, Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian leader Abbas set date for June 21; leaders to discuss disengagement, Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will hold a summit meeting on June 21, it was decided on Wednesday .
Sharon advisors Dov Weisglass and Shalom Turgeman concluded with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat that before the summit there would be preparatory meetings dealing with understandings reached at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in February and the upcoming disengagement from Gaza.
For quite some time, there has been talk about a meeting between the two leaders, but Wednesday was the first time a date has been set.
Second thoughts on house demolitions
At the same time, Sharon decided to delay a new government vote on demolishing the evacuated homes of Gaza settlers.
The votes was originally set for this coming Sunday, but sources close to the prime minister said that there was no point in taking a unilateral step if something could be arranged with the Palestinians.
The government is also trying to backtrack out of the decision to demolish the homes after the Defense Ministry, National Security Council, and Environment Ministry came out against the decision.
The government is hoping that former World Bank president James Wolfensohn, who is visiting the region, will help reach an Israeli-Palestinian understanding on settler homes. What the World Bank cannot do is buy the homes because they are on conquered territory.
Security talks
Ten days ago, the Israelis and Palestinians renewed high-level security meetings after a month-long hiatus, with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz meeting PA Interior Minister Nasser Yusef.
The two ministers discussed the declining security situation in Gaza, the need to collect illegal arms, and the Palestinian request to continue with the Israeli handover of West Bank cities.
During his meeting with Mofaz, Yusef presented a plan to coordinate the disengagement with the Israelis. Mofaz saw the plan as a positive sign but said it was “superficial, shallow and lacking.”
Speaking last week at an AIPAC conference, Sharon called upon the Palestinians to rise to the occasion and put a halt to violence during disengagement.
He said that such a Palestinian move will bring “a new era of understanding” between the two sides.
Sharon said that he was ready to release an additional 400 Palestinian security prisoners but emphasized that the disengagement would run along the government’s timeline.
Government red lines
“With disengagement, there’s a potential to follow through on the Road Map for Peace. We can proceed with the Road Map once the terror is defeated,” Sharon said.
The prime minister said that he was not wiling to compromise on security; Palestinian refugees would not enter Israel, and settlement blocs in the West Bank would remain a part of Israel.
