Posted on 06/18/2003 3:19:19 PM PDT by Kaslin
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called separate meetings with leaders of the main Islamic militant groups in Gaza on Wednesday to persuade them to stop attacking Israelis.
In a two-hour meeting with Hamas leaders, Abbas pressed for a halt to all attacks, but Hamas insisted on its right to target Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, said Hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab.
"We are trying to find a solution which is good for all of us," Abu Shanab said. Islamic Jihad leaders started a meeting with Abbas after the Hamas leadership left.
Abbas is also proposing a joint political leadership including the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Abu Shanab said. Such a joint leadership would be headed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and operate under the umbrella of the PLO, according to the official Palestine Media Center.
Israel and the United States have been trying to sideline Arafat, but he retains considerable clout and popularity.
Tuesday night, Palestinian gunmen killed a 7-year-old Israeli girl and wounded her sister in a highway ambush. A week of intense violence almost buried the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan launched June 4.
The peace plan begins with a halt to 32 months of violence and is to lead to a Palestinian state in 2005. Israel, which insists no moves can be made until Palestinian violence stops, threatened retaliation for the latest shooting.
"Someone has to wipe out the terrorist groups. Either Abu Mazen will do it, or we will have to do it," said Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to Abbas. Netanyahu was interviewed on Israel TV during a trip to Washington.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, speaking to Jewish fund-raisers from abroad on Wednesday evening, said Israel has accepted the road map with reservations, but "moving forward requires a complete cessation of terrorism, violence and incitement."
The peace plan, in contrast, calls for parallel steps - easing of Israeli restrictions as the Palestinians move to rein in the militants.
Late Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen used a water tunnel to cross a 26-foot-high barrier between the West Bank and a new north-south Israeli highway, the military said. They fired on a car carrying a family of eight, killing 7-year-old Noam Leibowitz. She was buried Wednesday.
Two militant groups claimed responsibility - the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, and the smaller Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
In a third day of talks in Gaza, Abbas pressed leaders of militant groups to stop attacks against Israelis. Hamas leaders did not rule out the possibility, reinforcing speculation that an accord might be near.
"We are examining the idea," said Abu Shanab.
Israel's part of the emerging deal would be a commitment to stop targeted killings of suspected militants, participants said, adding that Israel has not given such an assurance.
In Washington, President Bush said he called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and urged him to support Abbas toward "the dismantlement of terror and what hopefully will be a peaceful Palestinian state."
Bush hinted he will soon send National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to the Mideast. "I'll let you know when we send her," the president told reporters.
Last week Israeli helicopters struck three times in Gaza City, targeting Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who was wounded, and commanders and militants of the Hamas military wing. Twenty people, most of them bystanders, were killed. Also last week, a Hamas suicide bomber on a Jerusalem bus killed 17 people.
After opposing the concept of a temporary cease-fire in principle, Israel is now prepared to go along with it for up to six weeks, Israeli media reported Wednesday.
The truce period would give Abbas a chance to consolidate his power and rebuild his security forces, the reports said. Afterward, Israel would expect the security forces to move against the militant groups, a step Abbas has said he will not take.
Since GW likes this Abbas and apparently the way he negotiates peace, I think he should allow Bin Laden to be his VP.
Gees! What am I missing?
It's quite clear what their 'final solution' is.
Israel has its own state and magnificent defense forces, they must not allow themselves to be squeezed into a ghetto and sorted for death, (but Hamas insisted on its right to target Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank) told where they may live and where they may not.
They must defend themselves and crush the enemy, in spite of what the rest of the world wants, or await the sure slaughter of the rest.
They also like to call them "activists" and "Hamas political leaders". I guess Jeffrey Dahmer was just a guy with domestic issues, too.
"Someone has to wipe out the terrorist groups. Either Abu Mazen will do it, or we will have to do it," said Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to Abbas.Netanyahu is right....someone has to do it. But when Mohammed Dahlan said "this is the help we need to do it", the Israeli government completely refused, angering even President Bush.
-Eric
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